Turbo Tax users beware

[TrapperBob]

Just my opinion but I got bit

 

Been using TT for several years and this years filing got rejected. After several call,s found out it was because someone had already filed under DW SS number. For the first time in 20 years the government paid money on my FEDERAL return. To bad for me it was not paid to me but put on a credit card so they could get it faster and with no record to follow. Every year before this we paid them. You would think the fact that I always owe $$$ would be a flag, not so. You also would think a fake non working email address would be a flag, not so unlike most web sites they do not check to see if it is valid. The $$ numbers used in fake filing were all very close to last years including my interest paid for current home mortgage. Once again just my opinion but the information could only come from one place TT. They say not them they were not hacked but I have a strong belief they are being less than truthful. Time will tell. For the record this filing took place in St. Louis MO. and unlike the reported problems this was a federal filing not state. The state did not yet have a form filed.

 

 

Have no recommendations on how you should proceed just be careful.

 

At this time I am working on getting all records retained by TT deleted. Not as easy as you think, so we will be working on this for a while. Going back to paper and mail moving forward.

[Biker56]

Don't you have a different SS number then your DW.

And was your SS number used for the refund also?

[wa_desert_rat]

Some states have stopped allowing TT returns because this is rampant.

 

WDR

[docj]

I suspect this is only a problem with the online version of TurboTax. We use the downloaded program and no one has access to our data.

[wa_desert_rat]

If you pay over the Internet then TT has your final form I suspect.

 

WDR

[TrapperBob]

Biker 56 yes my number is different. They claimed i was unemployed earning zero, claim only made against DW SS #. This way the numbers worked for them so they got money back. We have been set up to always pay a small amount to the fed which gets us back a small amount from the state. Net very close to zero

[docj]

If you pay over the Internet then TT has your final form I suspect.

 

WDR

 

But at that point you've submitted your return. The scam being discussed only works if someone sends their return in ahead of yours. If you use the online system and save your work to come back to it to finish your return you've given someone else possession of some of your data before you've submitted.

 

I do submit my completed return online through TT, but that's the first time the data ever passes through TT's hands. And as for payment, I send that electronically through EFTPS; no TT involvement.

[RVRoadie]

Not sure why you zeroed in on TT since it was the IRS that accepted a fraudulent return with your SS number, and paid out a refund using an untraceable Visa card. There were plenty of red flags waving on that return that should of kicked it out, or at the very least requested verification directly from you. I doubt anybody at the IRS even bothered to look at the return.

[wa_desert_rat]

 

But at that point you've submitted your return. The scam being discussed only works if someone sends their return in ahead of yours. If you use the online system and save your work to come back to it to finish your return you've given someone else possession of some of your data before you've submitted.

 

If there is someone inside TT giving out data to someone else, then they'd have information from LAST year.

 

But I admit that I really don't know the details of this scam.

 

WDR

[Al F]

One big issue, which has been in the news, is that Turbo Tax does next to nothing to verify the ID of the person filing the taxes. TT seems to just accept that if you know the SS number then you must be that person filling the taxes.

[TrapperBob]

Docj,

 

Your process is not different than mine. I also do everything on a home computer and after completion send off with an e filing. TT has been good to me but how did last years numbers get out there? At some point if not TT then a 3rd party somewhere along the line was able to gather the information. TT has offered two years free credit monitoring so hopefully we will catch any other issues that may come up. The big question I have that makes me feel uneasy is no one else has ever seen my interest paid on outstanding loans. This is only used at tax time once a year and the false filing was real close to last years numbers. At this point I do not expect to ever find out where or what caused the breach. FYI, last year I used a windows based pc that has been shut down prior to this years filing. I am now on Apple and none of last years info was transferred to my new computer. This years forms were filled in from scratch.

 

Take care

[docj]

But having your last year's return wouldn't have told the scammer that you were getting a refund this year. Someone had to have had access to your current W-2 data or I think the IRS system would have noted that your return and the W2s' that had been filed didn't agree. It sure sounds as if the issue is more than just access to a prior year's return.

[LindaH]

This scam has been talked about ad nauseam on TV news...never have I heard that it had anything to do with TurboTax or any of the other tax preparation software.

[wa_desert_rat]

You can check your efile status for years you have already filed. If you check for 2014 and nothing comes up then your return has not yet been e-filed.

 

Google "check efile status" and pick one you think you can trust.

 

Mine came up blank for 2014.

 

WDR

[Al F]

But having your last year's return wouldn't have told the scammer that you were getting a refund this year. Someone had to have had access to your current W-2 data or I think the IRS system would have noted that your return and the W2s' that had been filed didn't agree. It sure sounds as if the issue is more than just access to a prior year's return.

I am pretty sure the IRS computers don't have the capability to do a real time verification of what you send in compared to what W2's or other financial data that comes in. From a practical stand point, that would take a lot of computer power to accomplish.

 

Not that the IRS doesn't do some comparison checking, but probably more like dotting the I's and crossing the T's. But as long as that edit passes mustard, they issue the refund.

 

But, hey, the IRS is also under pressure to issue refunds on a very timely basis. If those of us expecting refunds were to wait for 2-4 months to issue refunds there would be h*ll to pay. After all the economy depends on people spending the refunds in March and April. Look at all the ads asking you to spend your refund "here".

 

From personal experience, several years ago, I forgot to include some interest income. It was some 4-5 months before the IRS sent me a letter about the missing income.

[whj469]

It is my understanding that they do compare all income reported with what you put on you tax returns. It can take up to 18 months

before they contact you regarding any issues. We were audited for 2011 regarding losses for our cattle business and it was in February 2013.

They wouldn't let us send them the documents because they wanted to see that we had a ranch and cattle. They had us make copies of all of our documents and our bank

statements for 2011, December 2010 and January 2012. They set an appointment and a nice young lady came and went over all of it and we had to explain all of our income for the year.

It was not an unpleasant experience at all. We didn't have anything to hide and my better half keeps excellent records. In the end she told us that we can't have an extended number of losses over a number of years

unless we had a business plan that would show how we expect to make a profit. I couldn't come up with a business plan that would show a profit so she told me not to take a loss in the future or someone would

come and audit us and then tell us that we have a hobby and not a business and they would go back and disallow all of the losses that we had taken. We agreed because there is know way that I could show were a profit was possible. All things considered it was not a bad experience. If you don't do anything wrong and have good records there is nothing to be afraid of.