3 ms·

Just because there are two tax accounts at one address does not automatically make them fraudulent. Could it not be one person is filing it on behalf of others

by ryan90 12y ago

Just because there are two tax accounts at one address does not automatically make them fraudulent. Could it not be one person is filing it on behalf of others? Granted, it is absurd that this was not checked, but is this lunatic truly asking if it's a good idea to release bank information of people his company sees as fraudulent? I'm pretty sure this is satire, but wanted to make sure.

billhendricksjr 12y ago
Despite my Jonathan Swift inspired title, it is unfortunately not satire. Here's an abridged list of criteria that caused us to flag the 2 returns I mentioned as obviously fraudulent: - Mailing address on account was bogus per Google Maps - 1st credit card charge attempt failed, 2nd one passed. Name on credit card did not match name on account (although both CCs passed Stripe's zip code and CVV checks) - Taxpayer claimed to live and work in California, yet W-2 didn't have any CA state tax info (boxes 15-20) populated - Every value on the W-2 was a whole number (no pennies) There's more, but I don't want to give away our entire algorithm, which could help thieves navigate our system and others
- merciBien 12y ago
  I hope you're not serious, Bill. I really don't want you to go to jail. :) The government is slow to act, that's often a good thing to keep it from reacting quickly where some discussion or just delay is the wiser course. I get the impression the IRS has proposals to add these types of identity checks, but the inherent delays in decision-making mean any real change is years away. Does anyone know of a plan for the IRS to improve validation of refund requests?
  - billhendricksjr 12y ago
    Thanks for your concern :). I was motivated to post this after 8 years of frustration at IRS and other's failure to act. I've contacted IRS numerous times on this subject and they've indicated to no concrete plan and timeline to act decisively. In their defense - there are some quick and easy checks they could implement tomorrow, but the most definitive one is would be to check the W-2 the taxpayer enters vs. the W-2 they receive from the taxpayer's employer. The problem with this is - IRS doesn't receive the W-2 from the employer until after most refunds are issued. When they've pressed for it, small business owners and payroll providers push back hard, throwing out the "overreaching government" accusation.
- GFK_of_xmaspast 12y ago
  "Every value on the W-2 was a whole number (no pennies)" Don't lots of the tax forms say 'round to the nearest dollar'.
  - billhendricksjr 12y ago
    If you're filling out your return by hand (1040EZ, 1040A, or 1040) and doing the math yourself they do tell you to round. However the input forms (W-2, 1099s, etc.) VERY rarely contain ALL round numbers. After analyzing thousands of returns, I can assure this is a yellow, if not red, flag. Combine that with the other flags I mentioned, and several I didn't, and I would bet my life that the returns I'm eluding to are fraud. Clearly I'm betting my and my company's reputation, so I can assure you I'm very confident in my assessment.

by ryan90 12y ago

billhendricksjr 12y ago

Despite my Jonathan Swift inspired title, it is unfortunately not satire. Here's an abridged list of criteria that caused us to flag the 2 returns I mentioned as obviously fraudulent: - Mailing address on account was bogus per Google Maps - 1st credit card charge attempt failed, 2nd one passed. Name on credit card did not match name on account (although both CCs passed Stripe's zip code and CVV checks) - Taxpayer claimed to live and work in California, yet W-2 didn't have any CA state tax info (boxes 15-20) populated - Every value on the W-2 was a whole number (no pennies) There's more, but I don't want to give away our entire algorithm, which could help thieves navigate our system and others

merciBien 12y ago
I hope you're not serious, Bill. I really don't want you to go to jail. :) The government is slow to act, that's often a good thing to keep it from reacting quickly where some discussion or just delay is the wiser course. I get the impression the IRS has proposals to add these types of identity checks, but the inherent delays in decision-making mean any real change is years away. Does anyone know of a plan for the IRS to improve validation of refund requests?
- billhendricksjr 12y ago
  Thanks for your concern :). I was motivated to post this after 8 years of frustration at IRS and other's failure to act. I've contacted IRS numerous times on this subject and they've indicated to no concrete plan and timeline to act decisively. In their defense - there are some quick and easy checks they could implement tomorrow, but the most definitive one is would be to check the W-2 the taxpayer enters vs. the W-2 they receive from the taxpayer's employer. The problem with this is - IRS doesn't receive the W-2 from the employer until after most refunds are issued. When they've pressed for it, small business owners and payroll providers push back hard, throwing out the "overreaching government" accusation.
GFK_of_xmaspast 12y ago
"Every value on the W-2 was a whole number (no pennies)" Don't lots of the tax forms say 'round to the nearest dollar'.
- billhendricksjr 12y ago
  If you're filling out your return by hand (1040EZ, 1040A, or 1040) and doing the math yourself they do tell you to round. However the input forms (W-2, 1099s, etc.) VERY rarely contain ALL round numbers. After analyzing thousands of returns, I can assure this is a yellow, if not red, flag. Combine that with the other flags I mentioned, and several I didn't, and I would bet my life that the returns I'm eluding to are fraud. Clearly I'm betting my and my company's reputation, so I can assure you I'm very confident in my assessment.