Tax Prep Service Scams Rank High on Taxpayers' List of Concerns This Filing Season
Scam artists trick taxpayers by advertising and promoting themselves as legit tax preparation service providers through emails, social media ads and text messages. Their goal is to steal sensitive personal and financial information. With more than half of Americans opting to outsource tax prep and another 40 percent using software to self-file, it's important to know how to recognize if the service is legit.
"Criminals know most people are confused and overwhelmed by the tax filing process and would rather leave it to a pro to make sure they get the biggest refund or smallest penalty," said
Ghost Preparation Service Scams
According to the
These criminals tend to lure people in with the promise of a large refund and have fees that are based on a percentage of the estimated refund payable by cash only. They often encourage clients to take shortcuts to maximize their refunds or have them sign incomplete returns, which they promise to fill out later. They then refuse to provide victims with copies of their returns and disappear with no way to find the ghost who tricked them.
Experts at
Fake Tax Prep Websites
Scammers target people with malicious links to fake sites and malware through social ads, emails and text messages that impersonate the
Experts advise to always look at the content of emails and the sender's address carefully for anything suspicious like misspelled words, threatening or urgent language or URLs that display "http" instead of "https". Never click on any links if you suspect something phishy. Instead delete the message and block the sender.
Scams Against Tax Pros
The
These scammers generally use emails impersonating potential new clients, filing platforms or even the
Experts advise tax pros to make cybersecurity a priority throughout the year, not just during tax season. Never click on suspicious links or open attachments from addresses you do not know. Report phishing attempts to the
What to Do if You Become a Victim
- Immediately report identity theft tax-related activity to the
IRS usingIRS Identity Theft Affidavit (Form 14029) that provides all the necessary details for theIRS to open an investigation. - Be sure to monitor your bank accounts and credit card for unusual activity and fraudulent transactions.
- For additional tax season safeguards, identity theft protection services from
LifeLock add professional support to help victims of identity theft navigate complicatedIRS and credit bureau actions designed to restore taxpayers' lives, identities, and financial loss.
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