There has been an avalanche of reports about tax refund fraud in the Tampa Bay area over the past few months. Last month at a U.S. Senate subcommittee meeting, a Tampa police Detective said that a pilot program will soon start in Tampa where the IRS can share some information related to tax fraud with local police.
At that same hearing, Florida Senator Bill Nelson said tax refund fraud "may be as much as a $10 billion rip-off to the taxpayer each year."
On Thursday, Tampa area Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor will hold two workshops open to the public designed to help people protect themselves from identity theft and other scams.
The first workshop will run from 9-11 a.m. at the Cyrus Greene Community Center in Tampa – at 2101 E. MLK Jr. Blvd.
The second hearing will take place from 2-4 p.m. at the Enoch Davis Center in St. Petersburg – 1111 18th Avenue South.
This article appears in Apr 26 – May 2, 2012.