Identity theft is cruel blow for woman who had lost job, boyfriend, home
BY MAGGIE O'BRIEN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Guadalupe Reyna spent much of 2007 broke, pregnant and alone.

Guadalupe Reyna is still awaiting half of her $4,800 tax refund while the IRS investigates how someone stole her identity. She and her three children, including Natasha, 6, and Jorge, 3, stay with a friend because they lost their house to fire and the father of 5-month-old Alan was deported last year.She lost her job. The father of her then-unborn child was deported. Then, in September - when Reyna thought things couldn't get any worse - the Omaha house she was living in burned a week before she gave birth.

By year's end, Reyna, 24, who has three children, was left with little but the clothes on her back. She pinned her hopes on the $4,800 she expected after filing her tax forms, but even that hasn't come easily, because something else had been taken from her: her identity.

Shortly after she filed, the Internal Revenue Service, believing that Reyna had been living and working in Maryland, notified her that her earned-income tax credit and tax refund were being withheld because she hadn't filed since 2000. She protested, and IRS officials are investigating. She said they think someone - possibly a hotel employee who makes about $19,000 a year - stole her identity to gain employment.

Identity theft problems for taxpayers have risen dramatically in recent years, according to the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Trade Commission, the agency that tracks identity theft.

A 2007 IRS report to Congress said refund fraud based on identity theft increased nearly 400 percent from 2002 to 2006, while related employment fraud rose about 130 percent during the same period.

Refund fraud involves the use of someone's Social Security number to receive a false tax refund; employment fraud is using someone's Social Security number to obtain employment.

"If a thief has already filed a return using your Social Security number and name, then the IRS will believe you already filed and received your refund," said Christopher Miller, an IRS spokesman.

Miller said disclosure laws prevent the IRS from commenting on a specific taxpayer's case.

Reyna said IRS officials gave her $2,200 of the amount she was owed while they investigate. She filed a report with Omaha police, and an IRS investigator this week told her officials believe her account. She expects to receive the rest of her money soon.

"I really need that money," Reyna said.

Another Omahan also found himself the victim of identity theft when he tried to file his 2007 tax return.

When Wesley Devney electronically filed his tax return in January, he received an IRS notice that his Social Security number already had been used and a refund given out. Devney called the IRS to report the problem, and he filed a police report. "When someone runs into something like this, they are totally lost," Devney said.

IRS representatives in Omaha told Devney the earlier return could have been an accident or an oversight by the person who filed - but probably not. He said the agency is investigating, and there have been no arrests.

"Maybe somebody accidentally slipped that number in their return, but I don't think so," Devney said. "That's my gut feeling."

Identity thieves can be difficult to catch. Omaha police said it's especially tough if the suspect lives in another state, and many cases involve federal authorities. Miller, the IRS spokesman, said the agency is trying to crack down by investigating claims and prosecuting alleged thieves.

"We have a special identity theft and management office, and we have fraud detection centers to identify and analyze tax refund schemes," he said. "Appropriate cases are investigated and prosecuted."

If caught and convicted, identity thieves face federal prison time.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jan Sharp said a person convicted of identity theft or fraud could spend a few months to five years behind bars.

Those convicted of aggravated identity theft must serve an additional mandatory two-year prison term, he said. Aggravated identity theft is identity theft that occurs in connection with the commission of a felony.

In 2007 and the first two months of 2008, the U.S. attorney convicted about 50 people of aggravated identity theft in Nebraska, Sharp said.

If think you are a victim of tax administration identity theft, you should notify the IRS.

"Our tax examiners will work with you and other agencies to resolve the problem," Miller said.

Social Security benefits generally are not affected, even when someone has used another person's Social Security number to obtain employment.

"Luckily, it's not like it can't be fixed," said John Garlinger, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration.

In last year's report to Congress, the IRS said it was looking into ways to prevent identity theft in tax administration, including eliminating the use of Social Security numbers.

Doug Kagan, chairman of Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom, said his organization supports that idea.

"You can do a lot of things if you get a hold of someone's Social Security number," he said.

In Reyna's case, no one has been arrested, but she hopes someone is caught and punished.

"I don't have a heart to be mean or anything," she said, "but it is affecting me really bad."

What to do if you're a victimIf you believe you are a victim of tax-related identity theft:
• Contact the IRS at 800-829-1040 or visit www.irs.gov
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov.
• Contact your local police department and credit bureaus.

Nebraskans also may want to notify the State Attorney General's Office at 800-727-6432 or visit www.ago.ne.gov.
• Iowans can notify their State Attorney General's Office at 888-777-4590 or visit iowaattorneygeneral.org.

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