For the second year in a row, the state of Florida lead in most cases found of tax identity fraud.  The Internal Revenue Service announced last week that they were implementing a nationwide crackdown to catch the thieves.

 

Over the past few years, identity theft has become a widespread epidemic. The IRS confirms that, through internal audits, they’ve prevented up to $20 billion from being paid fraudulently to people who claims they are someone else.  And that is in 2012 alone.  In 2011, the IRS was able to stop $14 billion from being paid in error.

 

In the state of Florida, Tampa and Miami are the primary culprits.  Miami, there’s been 324 complaints per 100,000 households about identity theft.  Investigators are unsure why Miami is such a high tax fraud area. But, Florida isn’t the only high risk state. New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles are all on the top of the list for the IRS’s crackdown.

 

 

If you believe you are the victim of identity fraud, you can contact the IRS and report your concern at www.irs.gov.