Tax Season is Here; What You Should Know about some New Scams

ZANESVILLE, OH – Tax season is here and so are the scammers, looking to take advantage of someone else’s tax return.

There have been some new trends and tactics hitting the scene that scammers are utilizing this filing season.

Ron Mullet, an IRS Criminal Investigation Assistant Special Agent in Charge with the Cincinnati Field Office, said that people should be on the lookout for “Ghost Return Preparer.”

He said these are people who charge you a fee to file your tax return and then are unwilling to put their name on your tax return as the preparer.

“We’ve given it that label because they’re people who charge you a fee but they don’t, I say admit, they don’t list themselves as the preparer on the return,” Mullet said.” We hear stories of folks who maybe have simple tax return issues or questions from the IRS, maybe they’ve been contacted by mail by the IRS and then they look and turn to the person who prepared their returns and they’ve been ghosted, right? They don’t have that person to explain why that entry was made.”

Some other scams that pop up around the same time as tax season are crypto currency scams.

Kenyetta Bagby, an Outreach Coordinator & Program Director with the Ohio Department of Commerce, said her office has received an influx of reports in crypto scams and provided some ways you can keep yourself safe.

“You definitely want to reach out to the Department of Consumer Affairs to file a complaint,” Bagby explained. “You can also file a complaint with the AG’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office, with the Federal Trade Commission, and. Or, with the FBI.”

You can also report any scam you might come across by using the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker.