Tax Fraud Information

Synopsis of Occurrence

Arkansas State University officials were notified in February 2013 that tax fraud has occurred for some of ASU employees. These employees became aware when submitting their taxes that their taxes had already been filed.

In response, the University has assembled a security task force comprised of faculty, staff, and law enforcement who have a daily meeting to communicate the developments of this situation. Additionally, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, the Jonesboro Police Department, and the IRS have been working with Arkansas State University officials and the security task force committee.  

Actions ASU Employees Should Take

All employees of Arkansas State University are strongly encouraged to take immediate action to ensure that they are not a victim of tax fraud. Some ASU employees have been impacted by tax fraud, although the source of the identity theft has not yet been identified, ASU takes this matter very seriously and understands the hardship this has placed on our employees.  Even though we do not know who was able to secure information on our employees or whether that information was obtained from ASU stored data, we remain committed to protecting the confidentiality of all employees and their personal information. 

As a result, all employees should follow the steps outlined below, until these actions have been taken, you will continue to be vulnerable to tax fraud:

1. Call the IRS.

Contact the Internal Revenue Service at 1-800-829-1040, or IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490

2. Review necessary actions. 

If You Are Not a Victim

If You Are a Victim

3. Apply for an Identity Theft Passport Victim Identification Card. 

The passport can be a valuable tool to help you restore your name if your identity has been stolen.  It serves as an extra form of identification which can be presented to a law enforcement agency to help prevent detention for offenses committed by someone else (in your name), or in the event that fraudulent accounts are opened in your name.

We strongly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to obtain the Identity Theft Passport Victim Identification Card.  You can access the information online at http://www.gotyourbackarkansas.org/my-identity/identity-theft-passport-victim-id-card/. The form will need to be notarized and mailed to the address below, along with a copy of your police report, a copy of a photo ID and a letter explaining what happened.

Stephen Svetx III

Identity Theft Passport Application

Arkansas Attorney General’s Office

323 Center Street

Little Rock, Arkansas  72201

Please note:   The passport will include your current driver’s license photo.  It is not necessary to include a professional “passport” type photograph, as indicated on the application.

Official Letters from the IRS

ASU has worked with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to confirm the following information:

The following letters received from the IRS are valid and the employee should take action as described in the letter.  Any letters other than those identified below should be provided to the Human Resources Department for additional research.

Security Measures in Progress

• Security Task Force
  A security task force has been created to review processes and investigate the fraud. This task force, which is comprised of individuals from several departments on campus, is diligently working with the IRS, the State Attorney General’s office and local, state, and federal law enforcement. The task force currently meets on a weekly basis. More information can be found on the task force's webpage. 
   
• Privacy and Security Training 
  As part of our ongoing security review for the recent fraud alert, a new training course was created for all employees in BlackBoard Learn. Log in to https://bblearn.astate.edu/ to access the Privacy and Security Training. All employees should complete this training course along with the other employee seminar courses within 30 days of their hire date. You may contact Cleotis Williams at cmwilliams@astate.edu for issues. 
   
• Security Best Practices Website
  A security best practices website has been created for ASU faculty and staff. This website outlines the best practices for securely storing, sharing, and discarding electronic and paper data files that could contain personally identifiable information. Additionally, the site references security guidelines while working from home, a link to free anti-virus software, and information on software that securely deletes sensitive data files from a computer.

Points of Contact

Lori Winn, Director of Human Resources 
lwinn@astate.edu

Arkansas State University Police
http://www.astate.edu/a/police/index.dot 

Latest Taxpayers Guide To Identity Theft

For information about identity theft, how to know you've been affected, what to do if you have been affected and how to avoid being affected, click on the link below:

<<See the Taxpayer's Guide to Identity Theft>>