STATEWIDE — While everyone is vulnerable to identity theft year-round, it is especially important to be vigilant during income tax filing season. The Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) continues to ensure income tax filing information is secure.

Criminals have access to an incredible amount of personal data from business and financial sources. They may try to contact taxpayers by telephone and email with scams to get them to provide their personal information. If a criminal already has a taxpayer’s personal information, they could use it to file a fraudulent income tax return and steal that person’s tax refund. CDOR has implemented enhanced measures to detect refund fraud. CDOR’s accounting system and the public-facing Revenue Online service have not been impacted by data security breaches.

What is the Colorado Department of Revenue doing to detect and prevent refund fraud?

• CDOR partners with the IRS, other state revenue departments, and tax professionals to implement enhanced security features to combat refund fraud. 

• Revenue Online, CDOR’s free online filing system at Colorado.gov/RevenueOnline, remains a fast, safe, and secure means to upload requested supporting tax documents to CDOR. CDOR has employed the “two-factor” authentication industry standard when taxpayers sign up to access their Revenue Online tax accounts to prevent the personal and tax information the Department has from getting into the wrong hands.

• CDOR requests driver license or ID number information on the Colorado individual income tax return. This is a result of established national electronic filing standards. The Department may also use the driver license or ID information for detection and prevention of potential refund fraud. However, it is optional to provide this information and will not stop Colorado income tax returns and refunds from processing if it is not included. 

What can you do to prevent refund fraud?

• If the IRS contacts a taxpayer because it suspects someone else has filed a federal income tax return in their name, or if the tax software they use indicates a federal return has already been filed with their information, they should contact CDOR immediately. Criminals may also attempt to file a fraudulent Colorado income tax return. Use the Report Tax Refund Fraud online form at the bottom of the Refund Security webpage at Colorado.gov/Tax. 

• CDOR may contact taxpayers by postal mail to confirm their identity and their intent to file an income tax return if it is determined a suspicious Colorado income tax return has been filed with their information. Taxpayers should respond to these CDOR inquiries in a timely manner. This will help speed the process of getting the refund to which the taxpayer is entitled. For an example of an official CDOR correspondence, please click on the Refund Security button on our website, Colorado.gov/Tax. 

For tips on how you can avoid identity theft and what to do when you believe you may be a victim, visit our Taxpayer Security Awareness and Reporting Identity Theft webpage at Colorado.gov/Tax/taxpayer-security-awareness-and-reporting-identity-theft.