Thieves take advantage of IRS poor record keeping

NY Times:

With Personal Data in Hand, Thieves File Early and Often

Criminals filing false tax returns with made-up incomes have received hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds, law enforcement officials say.

You would think that the IRA should be able to check withholding records against refund request.  Are employers not required to file this data?  With information technology it should not be that hard to verify whether someone is eligible for a refund.   There is also the problem of illegals claiming refundable deductions for kids not in this country.  That is a law that should be changed  to prevent a further fraud on the treasury.  Some of the people filing the false returns are already in prison.