Avoid Tax Identity Theft By Filing Early

Another reason to dread tax season: the Internal Revenue Service says it paid out $63 billion in fraudulent tax refunds between 2011 and 2014. That means someone posing as you could walk away with a refund check with your name on it.

Shawn Novak teaches tax policy at Arizona State University. He's also a former tax adviser for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. He joins Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd to discuss the problem, and ways to avoid becoming a victim.