CSMS members: Click here for more information on the identity theft tax fraud investigation, and how you can protect yourself and your practice.

Please note: CSMS is not contacting members by phone about this issue. CSMS staff members are only placing calls in response to member-initiated contact. If you receive an unsolicited call from someone claiming to be a CSMS staff person, do not provide any information.

CSMS has heard from nearly three dozen Connecticut physicians reporting concerns about a multistate identity theft tax scam. The scam, which first surfaced last month in a number of states, involves using physician names, addresses and Social Security numbers to e-file fraudulent federal and/or state tax returns. In some cases, the returns reportedly used the name of another physician in the practice, a spouse, or a patient. In addition to Connecticut, affected states include Arizona, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina and Vermont.

Physicians are becoming aware of the scam in several ways, including receipt of an IRS 5071C letter (a request for more information to verify your identity), and rejection of e-filed taxes because the filing SSN has already been used to file a return. In all reported cases to date, the victims have been last-minute or late filers.

A federal investigation is already underway. As part of this multistate effort, CSMS has been asked to coordinate information reported by affected Connecticut physicians and share it with federal authorities. CSMS has also reached out to the Connecticut Attorney General’s office and the CT Department of Revenue Services regarding this matter.

If you think you may be the victim of this identity fraud scam, please contact CSMS General Counsel Layne Gakos, JD as soon as possible.