NEWS

Scary number of identity thefts at BSU

Seth Slabaugh
seths@muncie.gannett.com
  • See advice for victims of tax-related ID at bottom.
  • Do you think your identity has been stolen because of Anthem Hack%3F Email seths@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE An alarming number of Ball State University employees are discovering they are victims of tax-related identity theft, a number that could rise as more faculty and staff file tax returns between now and April 15.

"This is very, very disturbing," said one of the targets, Jennifer Palilonis, a professor of multimedia. "I've done everything I can think of to do and I still feel helpless."

Half an hour after filing her tax return with TurboTax last week, Palilonis learned that an identity thief already had filed a return for her. The return she filed was rejected by the feds and the state.

"My identity has been stolen, my husband's identity has been stolen, and I think they have my kids' Social Security numbers," said the professor. She spent hours and hours on the phone with the IRS,freezing her credit, filing a theft report at the sheriff's office, sending identity theft affidavits and other information to the IRS, filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and worrying.

She and other BSU employees think it's no coincidence that their identities were stolen just weeks after hackers attacked health insurance company Anthem, obtaining access to the names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, income data and other information on tens of millions of customers, including BSU employees.

Ball State officials, however, say there is no connection.

"We have heard some employees have had false tax returns filed, and we are helping employees by providing information on how to access IRS assistance to manage this," BSU spokeswoman Joan Todd said. "We have received no information that would confirm the false tax filings are a result of the Anthem security breach ... Identity theft has been a problem across the world for decades. To be clear, we have no information that any identity thefts ... are a result of the Anthem security breach."

But Palilonis and other longtime Ball State employees say they have never heard of this many identity thefts on campus.

One tax-related identity theft victim, a professional employee who asked not to be identified because "it could get me in trouble," told The Star Press, "This is the first time this many people have been affected." That employee, who has worked at BSU since the 1990s, filed his tax return through H&R Block. He said he knows of six to 10 other victims.

An email to Anthem media relations on Tuesday was undeliverable and the company didn't return a phone call seeking comment.

Star Press inquiries found that associate professor of voice and acting Wendy Saver and assistant professor of natural resources Josh Gruver know of recent identity-theft victims at BSU.

"I do know of several victims, unfortunately," Gruver said. "I'm in the midst of determining if I'm one. The jury is still out."

Others, like Lisa Pellerin, director of women's/gender studies, say, "I've heard rumors ... but I'm not going to spread them."

Palilonis personally knows of 17 other victims. "I find it awfully coincidental so many people at one university could get hit in such a short period of time," she said. "The other thing I can tell you is there are dramatic similarities in terms of what's happening to all of us."

While Palilonis owed the IRS this year, she received in the mail a tax refund of more than $8,500 in the form of a RushCard Live pre-paid debit card. When she called RushCard and asked, "What's stopping me from spending this at the mall?" she was told, "Nothing." The fraudulent tax return falsely reported Palilonis incurred $17,000 in medical expenses last year.

"I also heard of two other people, friends, who also got pre-paid debit cards in the mail, from T-Mobile and Green Dot," said Palilonis, who suspects identity thieves could use those cards without actually possessing them. "Everybody this happens to gets a refund of $7,000 to $9,000. I don't know the significance of that."

Luis Garcia, a spokesman for the IRS, told The Star Press, "That's the first I've heard of this twist on the scam. A lot of identity-theft criminals just buy a bunch of empty debit cards, then use the account information to load up the refund directly onto that card. There's no need to mail it to anybody. We make no distinction where we send the refund. It could be your savings account, your checking account or a debit card."

Palilonis reported the fraud to RushCard. "I don't want to have an account in my name with $8,500 in fraudulent tax filings on it," she said.

Joe Losco, a political science professor, doesn't know of any identity theft victims on campus, "but I know lots of faculty are angry and upset that they must now forever track their tax returns, lock and then re-open credit reports when they want to conduct business, and take on the expense of credit monitoring after the two years of free service provided by Anthem — all because Anthem may have been negligent ... "

Frank Groom, a data security professor at Ball State, said, "These fraudulent filings can be re-filed for years into the future." He also said stolen Social Security numbers are more valuable than stolen credit cards because the former is "useful for a lifetime, and is a core component for establishing false identity."

Contact Seth Slabaugh at (765) 213-5834.

Steps for Victims of Tax-Related Identity Theft

• File a report with the local police.

• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.ftc.gov or the FTC Identity Theft hotline at 877-438-4338 or TTY 866-653-4261.

• Contact one of the three major credit bureaus to place a "fraud alert' on your account:

• Equifax – www.equifax.com, 800-525-6285

• Experian – www.experian.com, 888-397-3742

• TransUnion – www.transunion.com, 800-680-7289

• Close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

• If you previously contacted the IRS and did not have a resolution, contact the Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 800-908-4490.

• If you are unable to get your issue resolved and are experiencing financial difficulties, contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service toll-free at 877-777-4778.