ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The St. Augustine Police Department says two different people filed police reports this past weekend after learning their Social Security number had been fraudulently used to file taxes.
"The first one was a gentleman trying to do his taxes through Turbo Tax, filled it all out and hit the submit button and it came back the Social Security number had already been filed for a claim through the Internal Revenue Service," said Officer Mark Samson.
Officer Samson said the second situation was very similar. He said it's unusual for two people to have this issue in the same weekend.
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"It seems like a lot. I don't remember having two back to back," said Samson.
He said the most important thing that could come from these cases is awareness about identity theft.
Local resident Anthony Payne said it's something he always worries about when writing down his Social Security number.
"First thing it makes me think about is that they can use that to their benefit and you never know who to trust these days," said Payne.
Samson said it's a good idea to pull your credit report every few months and also limit the use of your Social Security number.
Police say in situations like these, it could take up to six months for the IRS to resolve the problem.
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