Thieves Make Rich on IRS's Turf

Identity theft increases fivefold in two years. Should that make the news?

Well, according to the Government Accountability Office, identity theft of one variety -- that being committed on the IRS's own turf -- has, indeed, catapulted up five times from 2008 to 2010.

I don't know if the only way these thieves are benefiting is by receiving other people's tax refunds, but that is one way.

Now, however is it a thief would be so brazen as to engage in I.D. theft right on the government's home turf, stealing tax refunds administered by the IRS right from under their noses? It would seem the IRS would be all over this as quick as ugly on an ape, or cement in a sidewalk.

But. apparently not so. The GAO said there were 248,357 identity-theft cases from 2010. It said there were but just more than 4,700 investigations of all types performed by the IRS in fiscal 2010. If these two figures being reported are accurate, then but a slim, slim portion of the cases even gets investigated. Does the IRS catch most of these cases before it pays out the refunds? I don't know. But it does seem if almost a quarter million were not getting their refunds, there would be a lot of screaming and rising up in rebellion.

Perhaps the IRS simply issues the second refund, when the real person on the account files. That means Uncle Sam is losing the money.

But, here's the thing about the story that really caught me when I read it: Is this fivefold increase partially due to the Internet? How much of it is coming with Internet filings? Whether they steal the info in advance of the filing, or intercept the filing at the time it is transmitted, the Internet might well be a major factor in the increase.

Perhaps the increase also reflects an increase in document mills, with the drug cartels from Mexico and others in the crime syndicate opening more and more factories for false I.D.s. Whether this is a bigger factor than Internet fraud, I do not know.

Don't most of us file on line now? I've blogged before, on how I do not believe we are adequately reacting to Internet crime, and I repeat that assertion now. As I said before, we are dealing with a 21st Century problem with 20th Century ways.

For one thing, we need more police whose only job is the pursuit of Internet crime. It might well be time for creation of a whole new police agency. In jest, I say call it the Federal Bureau Belonging to Internet Investigations. That's the FBBII, for those of you who stutter when mention of the police comes up.

With 248,357 identity crimes being coming to the attention of the IRS, and only a little more than 4,700 crimes of all kinds being investigated . . . this screams for more agents being added. While I would like to see an agency dedicated to Internet crimes, we probably also should add agents to the IRS's criminal investigations division.