ID Theft and taxes

Identity theft is a fast-growing problem for tax filing.  From time to time a taxpayer will attempt to file electronically, only to have the return rejected by the IRS.  The error message says that their Social Security number has already been used for a tax filing this year.  The only thing that can be done then is to mail in a paper return and let the IRS sort out which is correct.  The IRS says it will take some measures next year to prevent this from happening.  However, the likely result is that refunds will be slower next year.