In Indiana, Some Must Take Quiz To Get Tax Refund

A short identity quiz stands between some Indiana taxpayers and their tax refunds this year.

After a reported 1,500 cases of tax return fraud last year, the Indiana Department of Revenue decided to look into how to protect Hoosiers from tax fraud.

Bob Dittmer, director of public relations for Indiana Department of Revenue, says the state partnered up with Lexis Nexis to create a short identity quiz based on information provided by public records, in order to combat potential identity thieves.

"We have a national epidemic of identity theft," Dittmer told Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson. "We need to be part of the solution. We need to protect users from this type of stuff."

So far, 73,000 Indiana taxpayers have taken the identity quiz, according to Dittmer.

"To put that into context, that’s only 4 percent of the population that has filed so far. About 78 or 79 percent have actually passed the quiz," he said

Both Connecticut and Georgia have similar programs in place to protect taxpayers.