If Asked by Proper Letter, Taxpayers Should Use IRS Website to Verify Identity

Taxpayers who get Letter 5071C from the IRS, asking them to verify their identities, can use the online Identity Verification Service to accomplish the task most easily and quickly, the Service said.

The Internal Revenue Service sends the letter through the U.S. Postal Service when it stops suspicious tax returns that have signs of representing identity theft but contain a real taxpayer’s name and/or Social Security number, it said in a March 18 news release (IR-2015-54).

Only those who receive the official letter should access the site, idverify.irs.gov, where they will be asked a series of questions ...