redtape.msnbc.com
By Bob Sullivan
UTAH -- Every year, millions of Social Security numbers are "shared" by more than one taxpayer. Government agencies that collect taxes, like the Social Security Administration, spot this immediately. Sometimes it's an innocent mistake; sometimes, it's identity theft. But no one ever tells the victims.
That is, not until now.
A pilot project in Utah aims to warn consumers that someone else is paying state taxes using their Social Security number. Two years in the making, it is believed to be the first such project in the nation. The first “Dear Victim” letters, about 100, started arriving this week.
Posted by tyne at June 22, 2007