Oregon Officials Say Nearly $2 Billion in Tax Refund Fraud Stopped Over Five Years

SALEM, Ore. (Mar. 11, 2026) — The Oregon Department of Revenue says it has prevented nearly $2 billion in attempted tax refund fraud over the past five years, including more than $1.4 billion in 2024 alone.

The announcement was made Wednesday by the office of Tina Kotek. According to the department, a total of $1.995 billion in fraudulent refund attempts has been identified and stopped since 2021. About $1.5 billion of that amount occurred during the past three full years.

State officials said the large amount of fraud detected in 2024 was partly connected to Oregon’s unusually large tax “kicker” refund that year, which increased the number of attempted fraudulent refund claims.

“Detecting, deterring, and preventing fraud protects Oregonians who play by the rules,” Kotek said in a statement. “Every dollar of fraud that DOR prevents is a dollar we can use to pay for schools, make Oregon healthier, keep our communities safe, and help meet our housing needs.”

The department’s Refund Protection unit is responsible for identifying breaches involving tax preparer data, tax-related identity theft and intentionally false refund claims. The agency said staff are trained to use data-driven review tools to detect patterns linked to fraudulent filings and respond quickly to suspicious activity.

“This isn’t a single parent who made a mistake when filling out their tax forms. It’s criminals running sophisticated scams,” said David Gerstenfeld, director of the Department of Revenue. “This $2 billion in stopped fraud is the result of targeted efforts to stop large-scale bad actors who send in thousands of fraudulent returns in attempts to steal tens, if not hundreds, of thousands in taxpayer dollars.”

Some critics, however, say the figures reflect attempted fraud rather than money that was actually lost or recovered, and argue that state officials should provide more detailed data about how those estimates are calculated. Others have also called for broader transparency around tax system security and the scale of identity theft affecting taxpayers.

The department said fraud schemes often involve stolen personal information or compromised tax preparer records used to submit false refund claims.

Officials are also warning taxpayers to be alert for scams in which individuals pose as IRS or state tax officials in an effort to obtain money or personal information. These scams may come through text messages, emails, phone calls, fraudulent mail or fake websites.

The department recommends that taxpayers avoid responding to suspicious messages, not click links or download attachments from unknown sources and communicate securely with the agency through its Revenue Online system. Taxpayers who are uncertain about a request are encouraged to contact the department directly to verify it.