IRS Tax Support

Wis. Warns Some Residents Tax Mailings May Have Had Social Security Numbers Visibly Printed

About 5,000 taxpayers may have received a state tax form in the mail with their Social Security numbers mistakenly visible, producing a risk of identity theft, authorities said.

It was the third time in a little more than a year in which Social Security numbers were incorrectly made visible on state mailings.

The state Department of Administration apologized for the error, in which the form sent from the state Department of Revenue to people in some northeastern Wisconsin communities was folded to reveal recipients’ Social Security number.

Agency secretary Michael Morgan said the error had been fixed.

A letter was sent Monday to the affected taxpayers, who are being offered one year of free credit monitoring by the state.

Earlier this month, a state vendor wrongly sent 260,000 brochures to Medicaid, SeniorCare and BadgerCare recipients with addressees’ Social Security numbers on the front. A little more than a year ago, another vendor hired by the Department of Revenue mailed about 171,000 tax forms with Social Security numbers on the label.

There have been no reported cases of identity theft in any of the three mailings.

AP