'Tis the Season: New Canaan Police Receive 10 Reports of Fraudulent IRS Tax Returns

New Canaan police last week received 10 reports that fraudsters looking for IRS refunds filed tax returns in the names of New Canaan taxpayers.

On April 15 alone, five different taxpayers reported to police that somebody had already filed a return for them. The fraudsters use identifying information like the Social Security number of a taxpayer.

In one case, a husband and wife on Wahackme Road went to file a tax return, but their accountant said it was sent back to them by the IRS because a previous fraudulent attempt had been made to file it.

In another case, a 45-year-old Silvermine Road resident tried to file taxes online on April 15, but he was informed that the taxes had already been filed. Early in March, the man had received some mail from an Oregon tax agency, but she thought it was junk mail and threw it out. Now he wonders if a false return had been filed there.

Police say there’s little they can do but send residents a packet of information about what they can do to prevent Identity theft and protect their accounts when it occurs.