Colorado Taxation Division releases tips to help taxpayers prevent fraud

Prevent fraud this tax filing season with advice from the Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR), Taxation Division.

The Division offers the following tips to help ease taxpayers’ minds as they prepare to file state income tax returns. The top security tips are:

• Carefully choose a tax preparer.
• Be prepared for paper checks. Colorado income tax refunds that are requested to be direct deposit may be converted to paper checks instead to combat fraud.
• CDOR may mail correspondence to verify Taxpayer Identity.
• CDOR may delay refunds in efforts to detect and prevent refund fraud.
• Be aware of tax scam alerts via phone call, text messaging or email.
• Prevent personal identity theft.
• Use Revenue Online. File returns and communicate to DOR using the state’s free tax filing web service. Revenue online is a great, legitimate resource when it comes to communicating with DOR.

Coloradans who believe their tax identification number has been stolen and someone has filed a Colorado tax return under their Social Security Number (SSN), should first report the suspected identity theft to local law enforcement and then the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI is available 24 hours per day via their Identity Theft & Fraud Hotline at (855) 443-3489.

The Taxation Division wants to prepare Coloradans with the necessary information to prevent tax fraud this tax filing season and encourages taxpayers to follow the IRS guidelines in order to ensure a refund is filed correctly.

Call the Taxpayer Helpline at (303) 205-8262 for addi- tional assistance Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

For more information please visit our website at the Tax Fraud Prevention web page (https://tax.colorado.gov/press-release/colorado-taxation-division-releases-tips-to-help-taxpayers-prevent-fraud).