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Tax season is upon us and that means
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fraudsters are ready to pounce
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reports show tax scams are on the rise
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because so much of the fraud involves
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the mail postal inspectors are ramping
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up Outreach and prevention efforts with
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a series of public service announcements
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the first involves tax refund fraud
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someone took my information and filed
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two fraudulent tax returns under my name
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hi I'm Andrea Avery United States Postal
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Inspector in this scam identity thieves
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typically use stolen names and Social
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Security numbers to file phony
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electronic tax returns in victims names
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and then receive their refunds
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this letter carrier talks about the
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flood of refund checks on his route
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actually at one time there was every
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house on the street was getting one
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and they were all
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you suspect you're a victim of tax
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refund fraud act fast and alert your
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financial institutions and the credit
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reporting agencies
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it can help stop thieves from opening
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new accounts and causing more damage to
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your credit
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thieves don't just use your information
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once they use it again and again
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don't forget to get a free copy of your
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credit report annually to verify your
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information is correct for more
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information visit uspis.gov