Identity Theft Alert
April 29 Update: UC Irvine has received more than 140 reports that Social Security numbers have been stolen and used to file fraudulent tax returns to gain refunds. Victims are identified as current and former UCI graduate students and medical students. In most cases, the students have discovered the issue when they electronically submit their federal income tax returns and the Internal Revenue Service informs them that someone has already filed using their name and Social Security number.
To date, an extensive investigation by the university has not identified a security breach on campus.
Questions and Answers
Here are some frequently asked questions and answers about this issue.
Q. What can students do if they believe they may be a victim of this fraud?
A. The only victims of whom UCI is aware are graduate and medical students who were enrolled during the 2006-07 academic year and had GSHIP (Graduate Student Health Insurance Program) insurance. Students who fall into that category can call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. Those who have filed a return with the IRS may check the status of their refund through this online form.
Students also may wish to flag their credit report with a fraud alert. The numbers for credit reporting agencies are:
- Equifax, 1-888-766-0008
- Experian, 1-888-397-3742
- TransUnion, 1-800-680-7289
Q. What can students do if they know a fraudulent return has been filed using their Social Security number?
A. Local and federal agencies stand ready to help. File crime reports with:
Students also may wish to call the IRS’ Taxpayer Advocate office, 1-877-777-4778.
Q. What should affected students do to file a return with the IRS?
A. The IRS has instructed that after the students have filed a crime report with the UC Irvine Police Department, they should complete a paper copy of their tax return, include a note as to what happened that provides the UCI Police Department report (DR) number, and mail the paper return to the IRS’ Fresno office. For the proper address, see this IRS listing. The IRS has indicated that it will process the return as it would any other return mailed through the post office, even if the tax return and refund have been processed previously.
Q. What progress is being made on the investigation?
A. To date, no security breach at UCI has been detected. Extensive full-time resources have been dedicated to the investigation. UC Irvine Police Department, Network & Academic Computing Services, Administrative Computing Services and campus administrative staff have been conducting a thorough investigation. The campus also is working with the IRS to investigate this matter. The IRS has reported a significant number of identity theft crimes occurring nationwide, and it is possible that UC Irvine is the victim of one of those criminal enterprises.
Q. Is anything being done to help the students involved?
A. UCI’s overriding goal is to provide all affected parties with information they need to remedy their situation and with steps they can take to help prevent identity theft and fraud. The university has taken several steps in this regard.
First, UCIPD sent out a campuswide crime alert March 20 describing the situation and advising students to contact campus police, at 949-824-0073 or (after hours/weekends) 949-824-5223, if they have any information or believe they have been a victim. The message included links to identity-theft prevention and IRS Web sites:
The university has sent follow-up communications campuswide and to the group of most likely victims.
Second, the university has made identity theft resources available to victims and potential victims. In particular, the U.S. Department of Justice recommends taking these steps.
Finally, the university’s financial aid office is arranging emergency loans in appropriate amounts for current students who face financial hardship by the delay in receiving their income tax refund. The financial aid office contact is Penny Harrell, 949-824-4898 or plharrel@uci.edu.
Q. How was this issue identified?
A. UCI was initially alerted that several graduate students had received the same response from the IRS when they submitted their returns electronically. After the university shared this information with the campus community and began its investigation, more victims filed reports with the UCI Police Department.
Q. Does this appear to be an isolated case?
A. There are more than 140 identified victims at UCI, but this currently appears to be focused on graduate and medical students enrolled during the 2006-07 academic year who had GSHIP insurance.
Q. What steps does UCI take to secure data?
A. Ensuring data security is one of the most important responsibilities we have to the campus community and a top priority. We continually work to strengthen our information security practices. An IT security team meets regularly to discuss security issues and share best practices across the campus and at UC Irvine Medical Center. We have a computing safety Web site that coaches computer users on e-mail, instant messaging, mobile and data security and posts security concerns such as this identity theft issue and the latest e-mail scams. More information is available in UC Business and Finance Bulletin IS-3 Electronic Information Security.
