MS residents may have a tax identity theft problem, recent report finds. Here’s why
Tax season can be stressful for Americans because of the time and expense involved, but for some Mississippians, filing taxes comes with an additional challenge.
The Magnolia State ranked fifth in the country for tax identity theft, according to a June 17 report from ConsumerAffairs, an online consumer news and review platform.
“Tax identity theft and fraud are among the most complex types of cybercrime,” Caroline Slane, senior vice president of business operations with Allstate, told ConsumerAffairs.
Here’s what we know about the issue in Mississippi.
What is tax identity theft?
Tax identity theft is a serious form of fraud that can happen when someone gets ahold of your Social Security Number or other personal identifying information.
The information can be used to claim your tax refund before your file or secure employment.
Stolen tax identities in MS
Mississippi’s rate of confirmed tax identity fraud cases in 2025 was nearly double the national rate, according to the ConsumerAffairs study.
More than 1.2 million tax returns were filed in the state, and about 0.20% were confirmed identity theft returns, the study found. The state had an even higher unconfirmed identity theft rate, at 2.84%.
Overall $39,253,914 worth of tax refunds were claimed in identity theft cases in the Magnolia State in 2025, according to the study, making it the fifth-highest rate of tax identity theft in the state.
Which states have the highest rates of tax identity theft?
These are the top 10 states for stolen tax identities, according to the ConsumerAffairs study:
1. Arkansas
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. Rhode Island
5. Mississippi
6. Louisiana
7. North Carolina
8. Arizona
9. Missouri
10. Kansas
Which states have the lowest rates of tax identity theft?
These states have the lowest rates of stolen tax identities, according to the ConsumerAffairs study:
1. North Dakota
2. Hawaii
3. Nebraska
4. New Hampshire
5. South Dakota
6. Wyoming
7. Wisconsin
8. Montana
9. Minnesota
10. Oregon
How to protect yourself against tax identity theft
Tax experts gave ConsumerAffairs the following tips for protecting against tax identity theft:
- File your taxes as early as possible
- Be wary of unsolicited messages
- Create an account on IRS.gov
- Protect your tax documents
- Do your research before uploading tax documents with a filing service
How did ConsumerAffairs come up with ranking?
To rank states, researchers at ConsumerAffairs looked at state-level IRS data covering processing year 2025 and evaluated states across the following two metrics: confirmed identity theft rate and unconfirmed identity theft rate.
