Identity theft is now hitting a new playing field - claiming and taking your tax refund. Larry Margasak at the Associated Press reports today that:

The IRS is grappling with a nearly five-fold increase in taxpayer identity theft between 2008 and 2010, a Government Accountability Office [GAO} official plans to tell a House hearing Thursday. There were 248,357 incidents in 2010, compared to 51,702 in 2008.

Yikes - this is clearly not a minor problem. However, the GAO finds that most identity thieves get away with taking your refund. The IRS Criminal Investigations Division only prosecutes around 4700 cases total a year for any criminal tax activity. Note however that their success rate is in the high 90%, so if a revenue officer with a gun ever shows up to ask you questions, you are likely to be the guest of the state for some time.

Please see full article below for more information.