Tips for filing your taxes safely and securely
The time of the year that we know and love has rolled around again — it’s tax season. In addition to the headaches that come along with filing one’s taxes, there are a number of security risks that some taxpayers might not be aware of.
The truth is that the materials and processes required for filing taxes are opportune for cybercriminals, as they leave room distributing niche, tax-related scams. Here are three examples of these scams and security risks, plus ways to avoid them while you file your taxes this year.
1. Ghost tax preparers
A ghost tax preparer is someone who will prepare your taxes, but refuse to sign the return. By law, anyone who is paid to prepare or assists in preparing federal tax returns must sign and include their preparer’s tax identification number (PTIN). Instead, ghost tax preparers will print the return and get the taxpayer to sign and mail it, or they will refuse to digitally sign e-filed returns, often because they don’t want to be responsible for the consequences. This unethical practice exposes you to a frightening array of problems. And should those problems lead to an audit, the ghost tax preparer is long gone, leaving you, the taxpayer, to brave it on your own.
How to avoid being scammed
It’s important to remember that ultimately you are responsible for all the information on your tax return, no matter who prepares it. So make sure you choose your preparer wisely.
Check the preparer’s qualifications. You can search the IRS directory to find preparers with credentials and qualifications recognized by the IRS.
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