Scammers file taxes for York man

YORK, Maine — A large tax return check wasn't exactly the welcome news it might have been for one town resident.
A Woodbridge Road man received a check for $5,666.10 from H&R Block on March 18, but hadn't even filed his taxes with the company, according to a police report.

Upon contacting H&R Block, he discovered that the filing had been done online, and the check was sent to a bank in Utah. However, the bank wouldn't deposit the check because the name on it didn't match the name on the account.
H&R Block in turn sent the check to the physical address it had for the taxpayer — which is how the local man discovered someone submitting taxes on his behalf.

"They did the taxes for him," said Sgt. Martin Doherty, speaking of identity thieves. "They wanted H&R Block to forward the check to them."

The resident told police he had been a victim of identity theft in April 2007, and since then has had fraudulent charges on his credit cards. Doherty could not confirm whether the resident's Social Security number had been compromised last year. The matter is now reportedly being investigated by H&R Block, the Internal Revenue Service and the York Police Department.