Today, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Mark Warner introduced the bipartisan Recovery of Stolen Checks Act. This legislation aims to protect American taxpayers from having their tax refund checks lost or stolen in the mail.
“An outdated IRS policy is leaving Tennesseans vulnerable to having their tax refund checks repeatedly lost or stolen in the mail,” said Senator Blackburn. “When those refunds don’t arrive on time, it puts real strain on hardworking families. The Recovery of Stolen Checks Act would allow taxpayers to receive a direct deposit from the Treasury Department rather than another check a criminal could intercept.”
Senator Warner highlighted the financial impact of check fraud, stating, “With check fraud costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, it makes no sense for the federal government to keep reissuing vulnerable paper checks after they have already been stolen or gone missing. This bipartisan bill offers a smart, secure fix by letting taxpayers opt for direct deposit so they can get their money faster and more safely.”
The act is cosponsored by several other senators including Rick Scott, Catherine Cortez Masto, Jim Justice, Ron Wyden, Pete Ricketts, Maggie Hassan, Jon Husted, and Raphael Warnock. In addition to its introduction in the Senate, this legislation has passed the U.S. House of Representatives with sponsorship from Representatives David Kustoff, Nicole Malliotakis, and Terri Sewell.
Tax refund theft is increasing with significant incidents reported recently involving postal workers charged with stealing IRS refund checks as part of a $63 million scheme. These stolen checks are often sold on the dark web at alarming rates.
Currently, if an IRS refund check is stolen, only a replacement paper check can be issued which may also be at risk of theft. The proposed act seeks to change this by mandating that the Department of Treasury establish a secure process for eligible taxpayers to receive their replacement refunds via direct deposit.
