Maine is poised to stop collecting income tax on money stolen from victims of certain types of scams under legislation that moved forward Thursday with strong bipartisan support.

LD 714 would align state law with federal income tax changes adopted last year by the Internal Revenue Service, which now allows some victims to claim a theft deduction.

The Legislature’s taxation committee voted 12-0 to send the bill to the House and Senate with an “ought to pass” recommendation. If it becomes law, it would apply to scams that began after Jan. 1, 2023.

To qualify for a theft deduction, the IRS stipulates that the loss must result from criminal conduct classified as theft under state law; the taxpayer must have no reasonable expectation of recovering the stolen funds; and the loss must arise from the theft of funds while invested.

The deduction doesn’t apply to losses from romance scams, false kidnappings and other frauds where victims transfer funds to scammers for non-investment purposes, Steven Langlin, a legislative analyst, told the taxation committee.

Committee member Rep. Gary Friedmann, D-Bar Harbor, noted that older Mainers are especially vulnerable as residents of the oldest state, with a median age of 44.8, according to the U.S. Census.

“I’m moved that we do all we can to protect our seniors,” Friedmann said.

Rep. Thomas Lavigne, R-Berwick, also a committee member, described a recent online scam he experienced. “It was terrible and it can happen to anybody,” he said.

The legislation was drafted after the Portland Press Herald reported on a China couple who lost $1.3 million in a government impersonation scam.

From October 2023 to April 2024, Larry and Barbara Cook drained their retirement accounts and transferred the money as bitcoin and gold bullion to scammers posing as Federal Trade Commission investigators. The scammers convinced the couple that it was the only way to protect their savings, which became taxable income once they cashed out their retirement accounts.

“Unlike the IRS, the current Maine tax law does not allow deduction for fraud from gross income,” Larry Cook, 82, said in written testimony to the tax committee. “The fraud and its ongoing consequences have impacted us financially, emotionally and even physically.”

Committee member Rep. Kristina Smith, R-Palermo, represents the Cooks and submitted a copy of the Press Herald article with her written testimony.

“This bill protects the most vulnerable among us — seniors with substantial but finite savings, people with limited technological familiarity, and anyone who falls prey to highly organized criminal schemes,” Smith said.

Scams are on the rise. The number of complaints about government impersonation scams in particular increased 50% in recent years, from 11,554 incidents worth $240.6 million in 2022 to 17,367 incidents worth $405.6 million in 2024, according to the latest FBI data.

Among people age 60 and up, scams involving cryptocurrency more than tripled in the same period, from 9,991 incidents worth $1 billion to 33,369 incidents worth $2.8 billion.

ORONO, Maine (WGME) – Police say they have recovered the body of a missing former University of Maine student.

Police say 19-year-old Chance Lauer was last seen on January 19 at the Orchard Trail Apartments in Orono, where he lived.

Orono police say Lauer’s body was found Tuesday in a retention pond near the complex where he lived.

Police don’t consider Lauer’s death to be suspicious.

No other information has been released at this time.

PORTLAND (WGME)– A cyberattack has shut down a nationwide breathalyzer test system found in vehicles of OUI offenders, impacting thousands of drivers in Maine and 45 other states.

Intoxalock is the company targeted by the attack.

Once the device is installed, drivers have to pass a breathalyzer test before they can start their vehicle. It won’t start if your blood alcohol is .02 or higher. But since the cyber breach shut its entire system down on Saturday, anyone with one of the devices cannot start their car.

One Mainer with an Intoxalock device says he got an OUI and is required by the court to have one.

“Anybody that’s locked out has remained locked out. There’s people that haven’t been able to drive since Saturday, if that’s their only vehicle,” he said.

CBS13 has been unable to reach the company. When you call, you get a recorded message.

“Intoxalock is investigating a cybersecurity event that was recently identified and impairing our ability to service customers.”

“Sunday evening, the company put out a notification that they’d been cyber-attacked,” a Mainer with an Intoxalock device said.

In online messages, Intoxalock says hackers are flooding its servers to stop them from functioning, and that the nationwide outage has affected installations, removals, calibrations and account access. The company says despite the attack, user data is secure, but it did not say if there was a ransom demand.

One driver in Maine works from home and his wife has a car, so he doesn’t need his truck to get to work.

“I’m really lucky. A lot of other people are not so lucky,” he said. “There’s some people who live out in the country that don’t have access to public transportation that are just totally up the creek.”

Intoxalock says they are working as quickly as possible to resolve this issue and get these devices working again.

However, if you have one of these installed in your car, you can’t start it or drive it. The Secretary of State’s Office oversees Maine’s Ignition Interlock Device Program. The Deputy Secretary of State says they are aware of the issue and are in contact with the company.

The Deputy Secretary says anyone wishing to replace their device can find a list of vendors and installation sites in Maine on the BMV website.

For updates on Intoxalock’s progress dealing with this cyberattack, go to learn.intoxalock.com/status. You can also text (424) 724-4689 for urgent service inquiries.