<prompt> Human: A few months ago I received a notice by mail alerting me of an unpaid balance on my 2015 tax returns. I was 17 at the time of these filings. The return states that my SSN was used to receive 6500 from an education payment program based in Massachusetts. I was born there, but lived in Virginia in 2015. I submitted my response, which basically said, I never opened a plan with this company, and my relatives say they didnt either, and after calling the company they dont have my SSN on file at all.I hadhave had a savings account with my college money in it the money already existed, I never needed to open a college Investment plan. After calling the Investment Plan company, they said they dont have my SSN on file for any plans, but its possible it was used as a beneficiary and suggested I call relatives to see if they may have used my SSN on a college Investment plan. Either way I never saw a cent of that 6500, and after submitting my response, I received the exact same proposed change by mail. Called the Plan company again... Still nothing in my name or SSN. The IRS says theres nothing internally they can do for me unless I get proof.Whats happening here? Is there anything I can do to find out who may have opened the account? I dont have the money to pay 1300 out of nowhere. The Loan company has been no help at all.  <response>: So the IRS says you owe more income tax because you had some kind of income paid to you when you were 17? Verify this is really from the IRS: There are a lot of scams. Go look up their number on their IRS.gov website, call and confirm its real. Reasons this sounds like a scam or at least a mistake:Werent you claimed as a dependent on your parents tax return at 17? I think they should be getting the nastygram from the IRS, not you. I believe the thing to do is find a CPA or enrolled agent might be cheaper to write a letter to the IRS for you. This usually starts a long process where they basically take no action for up to a year. That should give you time to figure it out. They are not going to cart you off to jail or anything if you dont pay by December. 