Watchdog Warns IRS Fraud Alerts Not Spotting Real Identity Theft

The IRS can do more to stop identity theft on business tax returns, a government watchdog found.

About three-quarters of business returns stopped between January 2017 and August 2019 as possible cases of identity theft weren’t actually cases of identity theft, while just 4%, representing $384 million, were confirmed cases, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Monday.

• The agency has yet to set up a designated entity for targeting and managing detection and risk of business identity theft and hasn’t conducted an assessment of those risks—in line with requirements of a 2015 law ...