There is a lot of discussion about the growing problem of identity theft. Most people think of identity theft as a stolen credit card or a compromised bank account. But many people don’t realize that tax identity theft is becoming increasingly common. The IRS reported tax identity theft as No. 1 on its annual list of “Dirty Dozen Tax Scams.” In fact, many refunds in the 2012 filing season were delayed because of IRS filters that were meant to screen for identity theft on tax filings. When the IRS cannot detect and prevent tax identity theft, it becomes a complex post-filing issue.