“We’re seeing unprecedented levels of sophisticated tax scams targeting small business owners this season. With the IRS gutted by layoffs, criminals know enforcement is at its weakest point in decades. It’s like leaving your front door wide open in a high-crime neighborhood.” — Carlos Samaniego, EA

When one of the nation’s top Enrolled Agents delivers a warning this stark, I pay attention. And so should you.

THE ALARMING NEW REALITY

The gutting of the IRS workforce has created a vacuum that scammers are flooding into with military precision. Their targets? Self-employed professionals and business owners like YOU who handle their own financial affairs.

Why? Because your information is more valuable, your potential refunds are larger, and the complexity of your returns makes fraud harder to detect.

THE FOUR DEADLY TRAPS BEING SET FOR YOU

Samaniego’s office has documented, Read and converse with tax professionals across the country and explosion of sophisticated scams specifically engineered to exploit the current IRS weakness:

  1. The Urgency Trap – Messages creating artificial deadlines or threats of immediate legal action. “These aren’t just annoying—they’re carefully crafted psychological triggers designed to bypass your normal verification processes,” warns Samaniego.
  2. The Isolation Maneuver – When scammers warn against consulting others. “The moment someone tells you not to verify with your regular financial advisor, they’ve revealed their hand,” Samaniego explains. “Legitimate tax strategies welcome scrutiny.”
  3. The Impossible Promise – Offers of refunds drastically larger than the current $2,065 average. Samaniego puts it bluntly: “Physics and tax law share one principle—there’s no such thing as magic. If someone promises to transform your tax situation overnight, they’re selling a fantasy.”
  4. The Digital Ambush – Dangerous links in unsolicited communications. “One click can compromise everything,” cautions Samaniego. “The most successful business owners I work with have a strict policy: Never click tax-related links from unexpected sources. Period.”

THE “GHOST PREPARER” EPIDEMIC

“The most alarming trend we’re seeing is the rise of ‘ghost preparers’ targeting small business owners,” Samaniego reveals. “These criminals promise to find deductions your regular accountant ‘missed,’ but what they’re really doing is setting you up for audit disaster while stealing your refund.”

The scam works like this: They file using inflated numbers, redirect your refund to their accounts, then vanish—leaving YOU to face the IRS when the discrepancies are eventually discovered.

SAMANIEGO’S 5-POINT PROTECTION PROTOCOL

After consulting with Samaniego, I’ve distilled his protection advice into five actionable steps every business owner should take IMMEDIATELY:

  1. Maintain Established Relationships – “Now is not the time to switch tax preparers based on flashy promises,” Samaniego insists. “Stick with professionals who have earned your trust over time.”
  2. File Electronically WITHOUT DELAY – “Every day you wait increases your vulnerability to identity theft,” he warns. “E-filing with direct deposit isn’t just faster—it’s significantly more secure.”
  3. Implement Verification Protocols – “If you receive ANY tax-related communication, verify through official channels,” Samaniego advises. “Call the IRS directly using ONLY the number on irs.gov—never the one provided in the suspicious message.”
  4. Document EVERYTHING – “In this environment of reduced IRS responsiveness, your paper trail is your protection,” he explains. “Keep records of all tax communications, legitimate or suspicious.”
  5. Trust Your Instincts – Samaniego’s most emphatic advice: “If something feels wrong, it probably is. The most successful entrepreneurs have finely-tuned intuition—listen to it.”

SAMANIEGO’S PARTING SHOT

I’ll leave you with Samaniego’s most powerful warning: “The criminals designing these scams are studying behavioral psychology, not just tax code. They know exactly which emotional buttons to push. Your best defense isn’t just tax knowledge—it’s understanding when someone is trying to manipulate you into making a costly mistake.”

Stay vigilant. Stay informed. Stay protected.

To your uncompromised prosperity,