Connecticut’s income-tax collector is urging taxpayers who may have been affected by the Anthem data breach and who expect to collect state or federal refunds to file those returns as quickly as possible.
State Department of Revenue Services Commissioner Kevin Sullivan Commissioner issued his advisory on Friday.
“The personally identifiable information apparently hacked at Anthem is exactly what tax fraud thieves use to make false refund claims that appear to be legitimate,” Sullivan said in a statement. “They will try to file for and steal the refund before the real taxpayer has a chance. Then the taxpayer will be denied the refund and it can take years to resolve the problem.”
Sullivan also noted that taxpayers using Turbo Tax in several states have been the target of fake emails with the title, “Your Turbo Tax account: Update your information” coming from a fraudulent email address, whiskers83@netzero.com. The information given is then being used to steal tax refunds.
“Never, ever reply to on-line inquiries like this without first confirming directly with Turbo Tax or its parent company, Intuit, that the email is legitimate,” he said.
Turbo Tax users concerned about the security of their information may call a dedicated toll free number at intuit at (800) 944-8596.
