Learn the facts
Reduced staffing and increased automated audits at the IRS (now over five million annually) make anyone susceptible to receiving an inquiry or audit from the IRS.
Only 37 percent of the calls made to IRS customer service between January 1 and April 18, 2015, were answered.
The average wait time for those who got through was 23 minutes 8.8 million calls received a “courtesy disconnect” or better said, were automatically disconnected due to high call volume.
17.6 million U.S. residents experienced an identity theft incident in 2014 representing one out of every 14 adults or 7.2 percent of the adult population.
The most common form of reported identity theft is related to government documents fraud (including tax returns) making up 34 percent or all identity theft incidents reported.
In 2014, the IRS stopped 19 million suspicious tax returns and more than $63 billion in fraudulent refunds. $5.8 billion in tax refunds were paid out to fraudulently filed returns. In 2012, the Treasury Inspector General for the Tax Administration projected that fraudulent filers would net $26 billion into 2017.
The IRS answered only 17 percent of the calls from those who had been notified that their return had been blocked due to suspicion of identity theft. Hold times averaged 28 minutes for those who got through.
It takes the average victim an estimated $500 and 30 hours to resolve each identity theft crime.
What can I do?
Encourage your clients to choose Protection Plus for the peace of mind and valuable assistance it provides. With Protection Plus, they will have access to experienced professionals to help in the event of an IRS audit or identity theft incident.