(WXYZ) — Tax Day is Tuesday, April 15, but some people have been wringing their hands over the deadline because they've received a tax form in the mail showing they'd pocketed thousands of dollars of income related to a Cash App account they've never opened.
These are victims of identity theft, and I've been investigating these cases since mid-February.
My first report on March 4th highlighted Monika Bailey of Oxford Township who received five 1099-K forms in the mail from Block, Inc. linked to five Cash App accounts opened using her stolen information — her name, her old address, and her social security number. The forms indicated she had to pay taxes on thousands of dollars in income related to those fraudulently opened accounts.
I worked with Cash App to get all of those accounts closed, her social security number blocked from being used to open future Cash App accounts, and corrected 1099-K forms issued to her and to the IRS.
In the weeks following that report, dozens of people from all over Southeast Michigan and from across the country reached out to me asking for help because they were dealing with the same identity theft issue.
Watch below: Local woman learns her identity was stolen when she got a 1099-K; here's what to look out for
"How frustrating has this been trying to get this fraudulently opened account closed?" I asked Elonda Conway of Pontiac.
"It was very frustrating," Conway said.
"I didn’t want to finish my taxes until this was resolved. So, it takes a huge burden off me. So, I can’t thank you enough," Quentin Watson of Washington Township told me after I helped him resolve his case.
"You reached out to me after you saw my story online. Were you just searching for this topic?" I asked Kasondra Amoore of Yuba City, California.
"I was. I was really desperate, honestly," Amoore said.
Elonda Conway, Quentin Watson, and Kasondra Amoore are just a few of the people who asked me to help them after they received 1099-K forms in the mail from Block, Inc., Cash App's parent company. The forms showed thousands of dollars in income through December 2024 transactions on Cash App accounts they never opened.
"I first seen your story in the beginning of March and I told my wife, ‘Wow, that’s exactly what I got.’ You know? So, I followed all the steps you said to follow, got a case number twice, and after I got the case number, I didn’t, you know, no resolve," Watson said.
In total, 42 people emailed me for help with the issue. More than 30 of them were from Southeast Michigan, but some were from as far away as California, Texas, and Washington D.C. All of them had spent weeks — and in some cases months — trying to reach Cash App Support for a solution.
"I keep seeing the stories over and over, so this thing must be larger than we know," Watson said.
This week, I asked Cash App how many fraudulently opened accounts the company has closed since January, how many non-Cash App customers had reached out to close the accounts, and what Cash App is doing to prevent this kind of criminal activity.
Watch below: 'I was honestly shocked and confused': 1099-K Identity Theft still happening; here's what to need to know
The company did not share any information about the size or scope of the problem, but a Cash App spokesperson released this statement:
"Cash App works to protect consumers against the risk of identity theft through a combination of preventative controls, dynamic detection, and consumer education. The nature of the threats posed by fraudulent actors is constantly evolving, and Cash App continuously seeks to adapt our practices to meet these threats."
I worked with a Cash App representative to expedite the cases of all 42 people who contacted me.
"When you finally received that zeroed out 1099-K, what did you feel like?" I asked Kasondra Amoore.
“I did a little happy dance," Amoore said.
“What went through your mind when you got that email back from Cash App that it was resolved?” I asked Elonda Conway.
"All I can think about was, if it wasn't that I seen that on your show, you know, if I didn't see that, I wouldn't know what to do," Conway said wiping away tears. "I'm sorry to be so emotional, but that's just how happy I am that this is uplifted. You know? This is over."
If you receive a form 1099-K due to fraudulent concerns, here are the steps to take, according to the FBI.
- Right away, monitor your credit reports with the major credit bureaus for any suspicious activity and freeze your credit for added protection
- Then, file a police report with your local law enforcement agency
- File a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center
- Report the identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission
You may need all of that documentation when you do the next step:
- Contact the issuer of the 1099-K form (which is in the upper left corner) and follow the IRS procedures to report the fraud, which may or may not require an Identity Theft Affidavit or Form 14039.
Cash App Support can be reached at (800) 969-1940 between 9AM - 7PM ET.
If you received a 1099-K form from Block, Inc. but never had a Cash App account, call Cash App Support at (800) 969-1940 between 9AM - 7PM ET.
Ask for the "designated team" working to resolve these 1099-K/fraudulent Cash App account cases.
Be prepared to give them a case number or service ticket number if you have that from prior calls to resolve this.
Most cases move to email after the phone call.
Many victims have been asking Cash App via email:
- to close the fraudulently-opened account/s
- to block my Social Security number from being used to open future Cash App accounts
- to send a corrected 1099-K to me and the IRS.
Victims should be prepared to provide identification and other personal information (sometimes including a selfie holding up your drivers license) through a secure link that squareup.sendsafely.com is providing for Cash App.
Identity theft victims can also report these cases to their state Attorney General's office and to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
