NO TAX REFUND?! Contact 6 warns of thieves going after YOUR money!

ST. LOUIS (WITI) — Identity theft continues to be one of the fastest growing crimes in the nation. But, here's something you might not have known — the crime includes fraudulent tax filings costing millions of dollars.

Here's how it works: Crooks use stolen identities to file for a tax return online. Victims have no idea until they try to file their own return.

U.S. Postal Inspectors say that during the filing process identity thieves ask to have their refunds put on a debit card.

"In order for them to get the money, they need people to receive those cards in the mail from the IRS," explained U.S. Postal Inspector Jamie Portell.

Postal inspectors tracked down one of the middle men in this scam and learned the details.

Identity thieves steal tax refunds by having the IRS put it on a debit card and sending the card to a middle man.

Once the middle man receives the debit card from the IRS, he sends the cards passwords to the mastermind — who is often overseas.

In this case, the go-between was living in a hotel and an astute employee noticed something unusual.

"The suspect was receiving numerous debit cards in different names and the hotel manager noticed all of these debit cards were going to this one room," Portell said.

A search warrant uncovered valuable information.

"We found several debit cards in other people's names on them. We, also, seized the computer of the suspect, recovered over 200 stolen identities and, also, the chat messages between the suspect and the suspects in Nigeria," revealed Portell.

Authorities warned the suspect to discontinue his role in the scheme, but he didn't listen.

"Once we were gone, the suspect immediately went and bought a new computer and informed the Nigerian suspect the feds were just here and they took everything," Portell said.

The middle man was charged with obstruction of justice and sentenced to 11 years in prison. However, postal inspectors say he was just one of many people involved in the scam.

"This case is just a small part of a larger case being investigated nationwide. The total losses, so far, is over $150 million. So, this case is hitting a larger part of the country," said Portell.

You don't have to be a victim. There are plenty of ways to make sure your identity hasn't stolen.

"…Annualcreditreport.com. It will give you a free copy of your credit report and you can make sure there is no account taken out in your name you weren't aware of," Portell recommends.