COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio is seeing a significant increase this year in attempts by scammers to steal state money through fraudulent income tax returns, state tax officials said.

Through August, the Ohio Department of Taxation said it has blocked more than 168,000 fraudulent returns seeking more than $160 million. That’s more than twice the 64,000 returns intercepted during all of 2014, which prevented $277 million in theft.

State officials cite increased security efforts with discouraging high-dollar refund requests from fraudulent filers this year. The additional safeguards included an identification tax quiz that some filers had to take to get their refunds.

While more than 90 percent of illegal returns were blocked in 2014, fraudsters obtained $28 million in improper tax refunds after likely using stolen personal information to file state returns, department analysts said.

The agency said it has recovered about $4 million and is seeking to get back more with the help of banks and law enforcement officials.

“We cannot just wish this problem away,” Tax Commissioner Joe Testa told The Columbus Dispatch. “It is real and requires constant vigilance, and Ohio is committed to doing everything we can to thwart and, whenever possible, prosecute these criminals.”