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Identity Theft

Ohio residents have more evidence to back up warnings about increased identity theft in the state. According to the state Department of Taxation, there has been an 18-times increase in the number of income-tax filings fraudulently seeking refunds this year. Crooks tried to get $180 million out of the state’s coffers, an attempt blamed mainly on the enormous increase in identity thefts.

Tax department investigators are to be commended for their efforts to stop this crime, but there are, of course, a few that slip through the cracks.

“We don’t believe we’ve caught every attempt at theft,” said taxation spokesman Gary Gudmundson. “We believe we’ve caught the vast majority.”

Thieves know no boundaries when it comes to the depths to which they will sink. Christopher Kyle Smith, of southwest Ohio, recently plead guilty to stealing the identities of dead children and filing fraudulent income-tax returns seeking $40,000 in refunds. But fraud detection methods are still imperfect, and individuals must be vigilant in guarding their personal information and watching out for its use.

Ohio’s taxation department is sending out notices letting tax-filers know if a return has already been filed in their names, at which point those filers can send an ID Theft Affidavit to the state. But criminals will keep finding new ways to steal identities and use them.

Guard your information and remain wary. It is a shame we have all got to be so careful, but criminals certainly are not relaxing their efforts.

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