A northern Door County man, who was the victim of identity theft, was able to stop a would-be scam artist from using his social security number to obtain tax refunds from the state and federal government. Earlier this month, the Town of Sevastopol man received a letter from the IRS asking him to verify information on his 2014 tax return. The man was surprised by the request since he hadn’t filed his tax returns and, generally, had to pay in, rather than receive a return. A little bit of detective work on his part found that his social security number had been used to file tax returns indicating that he worked for a masonry firm in Green Bay, had earned just under $32,000 and was due returns of $1,473 from the federal government and $1,499 from the state. The refunds were supposed to be direct deposited at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky. The affected agencies caught the scam early enough so that no state or federal dollars were deposited. Locally, the Sevastopol man was told to insure that his accounts were safe and to check his credit report. He indicated he was working with his bank and the Internal Revenue Service to get his personal finances in order.
