For Barrington police, tax season means plenty of tax fraud cases.
During a five-day period last week, nearly 20 Barrington residents filed complaints with the police department after their personal information was used to file fraudulent tax returns.
On Monday, April 13, residents on Crestwood Road, County Road, Lamson Road, Owing Stone Road and Middle Street contacted police after they tried to file their tax returns only to learn that someone else had already done so. Using the residents’ personal information, the crooks filed fake returns with the IRS and collected real money refunds.
A day later, residents on Bradford Street, Great Road, Linden Road and Chapin Road called the police to report similar incidents. The manner in which the victims filed their returns did not seem to matter, as people who used accountants were pinched just as easily as those attempting to file their own returns online.
Wednesday, April 15, which happened to be tax filing deadline day, brought five more complaints from Barrington residents, as folks from Brentonwood Avenue, Stratford Road, Lincoln Avenue, Short Road and Church Street shared their unfortunate events with local police officers.
Residents from Robbins Drive and Bernard Avenue filed complaints on Thursday, April 16, while a County Road resident called the local station on Friday. A man from Harrison Avenue and two more County Road residents filed complaints on Saturday, April 8.
According to other news outlets, the IRS anticipates $21 billion in tax return refund fraud by 2016.