Are there any IRS agents in the house?

[Brilac]

I received a LTR 5071C letter in the mail saturday from the IRS.

Basically it is a notice saying that they need to verify my ID, and that there is a web address and a phone number to accomplish this.

Before all of the naysayers jump in , I did go to the IRS homepage (not the web address in the letter)and this letter is legit from them.The irs website does direct all people who got this letter to go to the same place that the letter says to go.

My question is, can the verification be done in person at my local IRS office?

I, of course would bring ID and prior tax returns ect to verify that I am who I say I am.
To me this would be the easiest and most efficient way to prove who I am, IF they can actually do this there.
I did try online and they said unable to verify and directed me to call the IRS,and as I have experienced in the past it takes hours on hold just to talk to a live person,thus my thinking of just showing up in person.

[GMteSSted]

I'm a CPA in the tax business for over 26 years. I work with the IRS all of the time.
They know who you are, they don't have to ask.

Open this on IRS website link http://www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing

Read the very first sentence. DO NOT answer the letter you have!
Please follow the instructions and properly report this letter you have received.

[Brilac]

Thanks, but I did go there and the contact to me was via letter not email or phone call. In the letter section of what you linked it states to go to the irs website ect. I did what your linked page said to do. I appreciate you advice and just want to know if going down in person tomorrow is going to be a waste of my time.
Without going into to much detail it appears that myself and somebody else both filed a tax return using my social security number. Mine for a small refund, the scammer for a very large refund, and the irs are trying to figure out which is legit. Hence the reason that they want to verify my identity. No refunds have been paid out yet but the large scam refund has been approved and is scheduled for payment on the 20th(according to wheres my refund on irs website). I would like to be able to let the irs know to stop that payment before its made. ,and get me what little refund that I am entitled to. check out this link...

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Emplo...r-5071C-Letter

[el ess A]

If the letter is legit, the OTHER YOU probably got one too. They'll find out who is who, and the other you best hope not to be found by them. Of course, we hope they find them and punish them. Bringing the letter and yourself to the local IRS office can't hurt. Unless YOU are trying to hide something.

[Brilac]

I am planning on going down in person with the letter and everything proving who I am.
My problem being that the local IRS agent may not have the authority to verify who I am, that really is the question.
IRS website states only call or use the link they provide. I am wanting to do it in person to put the issue to rest , but that may not be allowed per their rules.
I have in the past called the IRS for other things and they are very helpful once you finally get to talk to a real person,but sometimes that takes hours of being on hold.

I have nothing to hide to prevent me from going down there, my taxes are 100% legal and accurate. I actually just rechecked all of my returns for the last 5 years to be sure.

[Brilac]

Originally Posted by el ess A

If the letter is legit, the OTHER YOU probably got one too. They'll find out who is who, and the other you best hope not to be found by them. Of course, we hope they find them and punish them. Bringing the letter and yourself to the local IRS office can't hurt. Unless YOU are trying to hide something.

I am sure the other "me" got notification also, but probably won't go down in person. They are most liking working from the safety of a keyboard in another part of the country or world. Also if they do get the huge refund that they claimed they will probably be gone "like a fart in the wind" as soon as they get paid. There was a cnn article recently that stated the IRS PAID OUT around 5.2 BILLION in fake claims..... unbelievable ! Sometimes these scammers file 100 plus returns a day.......

http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/10/tech...ex.html?iid=EL


What would be nice , would be for the IRS to have call centers open on the weekends during tax season so that people could get things resolved right away......end rant..!

[KaBoom1701]

This should help the IRS.....

[HDRDTD]

Do it in person. If the local agent/office can't authenticate you, they'll direct you to who can.

Trust the people , not the web.

[neptunetrucking]

In person makes the most sense

[The Blue Angel]

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/top-b...185831840.html

[Brilac]

Originally Posted by The Blue Angel

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/top-b...185831840.html

the link is accurate from what I have learned this weekend and I believe that #4 identity theft is what is happening in my case. I have no doubt that in the end I will get my refund as I all real documentation of actual employment and withholding amounts.I am finding out that it may be as much as 8-12 months to get it resolved.However the identity thief hasn't gotten their false refund of real money yet either, I hope that tomorrow , I can at the least get a hold put on that refund that is supposed to go out on the 20th.
.... tomorrow is going to be a day of lots of phone calls ... but first stop is the IRS office, then protect my assets and accounts..

[Brilac]

Follow up....

In answer to my original question of can an agent at the IRS office verify your identity?...... YES

The LTR 5071c that i got in the mail... LEGIT REAL

but as stated by GMteSSted above and I agree, don't take mailings , emails ,or phone calls at face value. Check and verify and report directly with the IRS , this goes with all other items also. Don't trust anything at face value.It a sad state of affairs that this is the world we live in.

In my particular case it appears that someone filed a tax return electronically using my name and social, before I did. Their(fraudulent) return was approved and then the IRS received my return,this of course raised some red flags and generated the letter to me. Don't automatically dismiss all letters as fake , if I had, the fake return would have been paid and I would have had an even longer wait for my refund. Always check into it.

Good news is the fraudulent return has been flagged for investigation and the large refund they were expecting has been stopped.

Bad news is that I was told that I should expect my actual real return and refund to be completed in 6 months.

[Muscle Car Lover]

Originally Posted by Brilac

Follow up....

In answer to my original question of can an agent at the IRS office verify your identity?...... YES

The LTR 5071c that i got in the mail... LEGIT REAL

but as stated by GMteSSted above and I agree, don't take mailings , emails ,or phone calls at face value. Check and verify and report directly with the IRS , this goes with all other items also. Don't trust anything at face value.It a sad state of affairs that this is the world we live in.

In my particular case it appears that someone filed a tax return electronically using my name and social, before I did. Their(fraudulent) return was approved and then the IRS received my return,this of course raised some red flags and generated the letter to me. Don't automatically dismiss all letters as fake , if I had, the fake return would have been paid and I would have had an even longer wait for my refund. Always check into it.

Good news is the fraudulent return has been flagged for investigation and the large refund they were expecting has been stopped.

Bad news is that I was told that I should expect my actual real return and refund to be completed in 6 months.

Hope it gets worked out. My uncle (retired Air Force) is now an IRS honcho, I can ask him about this. Sucks!

[Brilac]

Originally Posted by Muscle Car Lover

Hope it gets worked out. My uncle (retired Air Force) is now an IRS honcho, I can ask him about this. Sucks!

Thanks for the offer, but I think everything is all set on my end. The IRS agent was very knowledgeable in this as he says he sees 6-8 of these cases a day.
He explained how this whole thing usually works and how the scam artist get paid. Almost unbelievable how easy it can be once they get a social security number. Unlike what we were told as kids , in fact ,Crime does pay...... and very well.