More taxpayers will get their refunds by mail, like it or not

States have been pushing taxpayers to get their refunds via direct deposit for years. Now people choosing that option may be surprised with a paper check instead. South Carolina informed residents this week that, in response to a recent spike in fraud, the state is converting some refunds for people who requested direct deposit to paper checks; Colorado announced a similar move in mid-February. In Connecticut, all first-time filers and all refunds flagged as potentially suspicious will get paper checks, and Alabama announced today that it would also send all first-time filers checks. In Utah, the increase in paper checks is “dramatic,” because requests for refunds on certain types of debit cards are all being issued checks, says Charlie Roberts, a spokesman for the Utah State Tax Commission.

Those examples are “the tip of the iceberg,” says Verenda Smith, deputy director at the Federation of Tax Administrators. “We don’t have a lot of numbers, but there’s more of these conversions going on now, and more that will go on.” Smith says that while state revenue departments have always had the option of flipping a direct deposit refund to paper, it’s being done more publicly now. “It’s a minor inconvenience to taxpayers but very helpful in stopping fraud,” she says, and tax officials don’t get a lot of heat politically for doing it.