Скачать или смотреть Tax season means tax fraud scams are on the rise

Vanessa Perez reports on what one tax attorney wants taxpayers to look out for this season: ghost preparers and fraudulent scams.

It's tax season and the Internal Revenue Service isn't the only one interested in your money.

As you get those W-2s, 10-99s, mortgage payments, and child tax credit information ready for tax filing, you'll also want to be on the lookout for people giving dubious advice.

Ghost preparers are out there and they're on the prowl for your hard-earned money.

They portray themselves as legitimate and file your taxes for you. But, if the IRS comes knocking on your door because something went wrong, they're nowhere to be found.

"That's the real downside to all of this is people to rely upon advice from people and it's not always apparent who you're getting advice from and if that person is qualified to give it," Eide Bailly tax attorney Adam Sweet said.

We all have to sign on the dotted line and if the person doing your taxes is unwilling to do so, it's an instant red flag. That person could be a ghost preparer and you have little recourse if something goes wrong with your tax filing.

A certified public accountant will sign their name on the dotted line so it's known to the IRS.

Another warning sign is if a preparer makes grand promises that your refund will come faster and you'll get more money back.

The IRS determines when you'll get your tax notice or refund back. What you'll get back is based on last year's tax information and current tax laws.

Also, keep in mind to only allow funds to be deposited into your personal account. Some ghost preparers will have funds deposited into their own account and say that "it will be later distributed."

"Really most people that are scammed are of limited means and when it finally comes to light a couple of years later the IRS is at their doorstep. The person they worked with is long gone one, and then two they don't have the resources. the person that was harmed doesn't have the resources to go after the person," Sweet said.

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