Victim seeking help after fraudulent tax return filed
ARNOLD, Mo. – As Tax Day is just over a month away, some taxpayers are already experiencing problems. One Jefferson County family is learning just how devastating it is to become tax fraud victims.
“I always file early,” Melissa Manker-Kotraba said.
The current tax season looked no different for the Jefferson County resident. On Feb. 4, she visited the H&R Block office in Arnold.
“(I) sat down with the tax professional. We did my taxes. State and federal. Signed everything,” she said.
About a week and a half later, Manker-Kotraba said she began to check on the status of her refund, and what she found was concerning. The refund amount she saw on the IRS website was $2,000 more than what she was expecting. After a series of conversations with the IRS and H&R Block, she got the devastating news that she was a victim of tax-related identity theft.
“Not only do they have my social security number, but they have my three kids Social Security numbers. They have our address. They have all of that information, and nobody seems to care,” Manker-Kotraba said.
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FOX 2 reached out to H&R Block regarding the issues Manker-Kotraba was experiencing. In a statement, the company said:
“Melissa’s identity theft happened before the return was filed, meaning they received her personal information from an outside source, not from H&R Block. They were able to use her personal information to file a fraudulent return. Our customer service team is working directly with Melissa. They walked her through the steps on how she could best track this or expedite this with the IRS.”
H&R Block
Manker-Kotraba now has a meeting scheduled for later this month at the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center.
“They’re telling me that my refund could take 120 to 665 days to get back and I think that’s just absolutely absurd. I don’t know what to do,” she said.
For a family desperately counting on their tax return money, it’s a situation requiring patience they can’t afford.
“Part of that money goes into a savings account, and I use it for the following school year, (to) pay off Christmas. Now I have none of that. And somebody out there has my money,” she said.
One prevention method that can be used to combat someone else using your Social Security number is to create an Identity Protection PIN. To create one, click here.
If you believe you may be a victim of tax-related identity theft or to learn of potential warning signs you might be, click here.
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