Tax Risk 4
Ghost tax preparers
Tax Risk 4
Ghost tax preparers
How it works
A "ghost preparer" prepares a return but refuses to sign it or include their required identification, leaving you holding responsibility. They might also file a return with false credits or income to inflate a refund, or keep your documents and reuse them for identity theft.
Red flags to watch for
- Preparers refuse to sign the return or provide a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN)
- They levy their fees based on the size of your refund
- You are pressured to claim credits you don't understand
- You receive requests to route refunds to their account
How to prevent an attack
- Use established firms or professionals and confirm their licensing credentials
- Require signatures and proper identification with no exceptions
- Keep control of your refund routing, as all refunds should go to accounts you control
How BlackCloak can help
BlackCloak helps protect the information you share with tax professionals and lowers the chance it gets reused against you.
If you're evaluating a new preparer or portal, our Concierge Team can help you sanity-check requests and confirm safer ways to exchange documents. Should you fall victim to a cybercriminal, our 24/7 incident response support acts quickly and confidently to resolve the issue.
