State income tax refunds may be delayed this year since returns are taking longer to process as a result of increased fraud, according to Commissioner Lynne Riley of the Georgia Department of Revenue.

More than $17 million in fraudulently filed returns have been blocked thus far.

“The 2016 tax filing and processing period has been complicated … for a variety of factors,” Riley said in a statement. “Whether it be one of the many data breaches that have been reported in the last year, or a spoofing or phishing scam, every incident requires us to modify our systems to protect taxpayers.”

According to the Internal Revenue Service, more than $5 billion has been paid out to criminals who have filed fraudulent claims in previous years.

The Department of Revenue’s Georgia Tax Center helps taxpayers monitor their returns and refunds online at http://gtc.dor.ga.gov.