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Last updated on Friday, January 29, 2016
(INDIANAPOLIS) - Now that tax season is well underway, thousands of Hoosiers are receiving letters in the mail asking them to confirm their identity.
The Indiana Department of Revenue is sending the letters as part of the agency's Identity Protection Program.
The letter alerts the taxpayer that their 2015 tax return has been selected for "identity confirmation review" and asks them to go to a website to complete an Identity Confirmation Quiz.
To date, 10,000 citizens have received the letters as part of the program, which the Department of Revenue launched during the 2014 tax season.
"Since its inception, the program has stopped more than $100 million in attempted identity theft and tax refund fraud," said Amanda Stanley, spokesperson for the Department of Revenue.
"The letters will be sent throughout the tax season as returns are received and processed. If the Identity Confirmation Quiz is taken in a timely manner once the letter is received, processing of the return will not be delayed and taxpayers who electronically filed their returns should receive their refunds (if eligible to receive one) within 10 to 14 days."
Stanley said taxpayers being asked to take the quiz are not suspected of identity theft.
"This effort is designed to further protect taxpayers' identities and tax refunds," Stanley says.
The state agency is not releasing the letter to the media.
"Keeping this information private also prevents criminals from using the information in an attempt to pass the quiz fraudulently," Stanley says.
If you received a letter and are unsure of its legitimacy, call (317) 233-1642.
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