Tax Refund Fraud FAQs

Identity theft occurs when your personal information, (e.g., your name, Social Security number, address, etc.) is taken and used without permission to commit crimes or fraud.

A criminal who has access to your personal information may use it to file a return in your name in an attempt to steal your refund.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service have recently warned of an increase in scams, including sending emails, text messages, and calling over-the-phone to phish for information, tricking taxpayers into giving criminals personal information needed to commit identity fraud such as filing a tax return in your name.

With the increase in scams and stolen personal information, we are taking the time necessary to make sure the right refund goes to the right person.

Each tax return is different, and we review every return to verify the information on the return.

The length of time to process a return can differ from year to year.

Each tax return is different, so processing times will vary.

Using Where’s My Refund?, you can follow your return through our process with a new status bar. When we are finished, you will see the date your refund was sent.