The Indiana Department of Revenue says that since the inception of a fraud-prevention program, hackers don’t seem to be targeting the state’s residents as much.
The agency says it has halted more than $111 million in refunds for at least 61,000 fraudulent tax returns since launching the Identity Protection and Fraud Prevention Program in 2014.
The Indianapolis Business Journal reports that program’s system uses an algorithm to flag suspicious returns and an identity-confirmation quiz to protect legitimate taxpayers.
Eva Velasquez, CEO of San Diego-based Identity Theft Resource Center, calls Indiana’s program “almost a model process.”
Velasquez says the agency is “essentially doing what we need to do on a grander scale.”
Economic analyst Mark Hamrick says technology has made it easier for criminals to hack personal information.
