- December 16, 2025
Two people on the same day in February, in the same Flagler office, were victims.
Palm Coast resident Dennis Metrock, 67, did everything right. He used a tax preparer, got his taxes done six weeks early and went on his way. But then he got a phone call. He was told his taxes had already been filed electronically by someone else. He was a victim of tax fraud.
“Now I have to wait up to 90 days for them to process the fraud claim, and then it’ll take up to 12 weeks before I’ll receive the return,” Metrock said. “It was $2,809. I can deal without having it for a period of time, but other people really depend on that.”
Metrock isn’t the only victim, either. In fact, his tax preparer through AARP Tax-Aide had an identical case the same day, Feb. 1.
“They must be running rampant right now in Palm Coast,” Metrock said. “If I can go on the same day, same office — how many other people are being caught?”
Margaret Campbell, local coordinator for AARP Tax-Aide, said fraud like this is “prevalent.” She said that last year a young man was killed in a motorcycle accident. His father came in to file his taxes on his behalf, and he learned that someone else had already claimed the return.
“Someone’s reading the obituaries,” Campbell said. “The father was very upset.”
Metrock has heard of a similar case. “Imagine that: You’re dead and you’re still getting robbed,” he said.
Debra Johnson, public information officer for the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, reports that there have been 91 incidents of fraud so far in 2012, but that number includes all fraud reported to the Sheriff’s Office — not just tax fraud.
A story last month in USA Today reported that more than 260,000 cases of identity-theft tax fraud were prevented in 2011, saving $1.4 billion in tax funds. In 2010, there were 48,966 stopped fraudulent returns, saving $247 million, according to the USA Today story.
The IRS website states that if your identity was stolen and your tax return is compromised, you will receive a letter from the IRS or from a tax professional. The site recommends that you contact the IRS to determine whether the letter itself is legitimate. If you are a victim, visit www.irs.gov and search for “Form 14039” to report it.
For Metrock, the tax return is the second time his family has been an identity-theft target within about a month. He said he pays for fraud protection through his credit card, and he still got a call from the company saying his account activity was suspicious.
“I’m dumbfounded,” he said. “I couldn’t understand where they got that information. … We are fastidious about anything with our names on it. We shred it. We have a box in the bank with sensitive documents.”
Regardless of the fraud problems, everyone still has to do their taxes. And Campbell said Tax-Aide has been busier than ever, even with about 45 volunteers to help with scheduling and doing the returns for people.
“We are absolutely going bananas,” Campbell said. “On Tuesday (Feb. 7) they were extremely busy, so I went in after dinner, and there were 83 messages that came in between noon and 4 p.m.”
The Flagler County Public Library, the most popular of the seven locations for the free tax help, is booked solid well into March. (See box below.)
“We’ve never run out of appointment slots, but I see that happening this year,” Campbell said.
FREE TAX PREP
AARP Tax-Aide is now taking appointments for free tax preparation and filing. The sites will remain open until the end of the filing season. Sites are serviced by trained volunteers, certified by the IRS. Returns are prepared by appointment only. Each location is open only on a specific day or days each week.
Call 313-4048 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, to make an appointment.
Email [email protected].
