Yearly, $5.8 billion in fraudulent refunds was claimed by crooks utilizing stolen Social Safety numbers. IRS has tried to beef up the safety and a few states even require residents to attend longer to obtain their tax refunds. On Kiplinger, Sandra Block has a superb recommendation to stop fraudulent refunds: “Your greatest protection is to file your tax return as quickly as potential. That gained’t cease crooks who’ve stolen your Social Safety quantity from submitting a fraudulent return, however they’ll’t hijack a refund you’ve already claimed.” (kiplinger.com)