SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — The tax filing deadline is a little under a month away. But before you file — if you haven’t already — the IRS urges you to be aware of common tax scams.
Jarael Major, who runs Major CPA Tax & Accounting Services, dropped some tips and broke down warning signs on how to avoid being a target.
“Apply for an identity protection pin,” said Major, a certified public accountant.
Hear more from Jarael Major in the video player below:
Major is a certified public accountant. He says identity theft is one area of fraudulent tax activity, and that pin numbers can help protect you or your dependents.
“You will get a different pin every filing season with a code,” the CPA said. “So even if someone did try to use your social security number or your dependent's social security number, it will not go through without that two-factor authorization code.”
Major has been a CPA for seven years. Before that, he was a professional tax preparer for over a decade with a registered preparer tax identification number, which is the number the IRS issues a tax preparer to sign the taxee's tax return after preparing it.
According to the IRS, those who do not have this number are considered a ghost preparer and people should be wary of them.
“A ghost tax preparer is someone who does not sign your return as your paid preparer,” Major said. “They just use Turbo Tax or use different third-party softwares, but they’re not signing as a preparer with that PTIN number. So essentially, it looks as if the taxpayer themselves signed the return on their own and submitted it.”
The IRS says that they require all tax preparers to sign tax returns and not doing so may signal fraud. Major said the IRS will never call or email and will communicate through U.S. mail.
One way Major says to avoid getting scammed by a ghost preparer is having a consistent tax preparer.
“You don’t want to just bounce around from tax preparer to tax preparer,” Major said. “Obviously, the more people who have access to your information significantly increases the chances that you would be a victim."
Tony Dorsey says he never has been a victim of tax scam and never wants to. For that reason, Dorsey uses the same preparer every year.
“You can’t just go to just anybody,” Dorsey said. “Because it is frauds everywhere."
Major said he encourages all tax payers to do their due diligence before selecting someone to prepare their taxes.
“Ask questions about their certifications or if they have a PTIN number,” he said.
