{"id":274740,"date":"2026-03-11T13:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T17:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/english-the-california-tax-education-council-warns-taxpayers-of-common-tax-refund-scams\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T21:51:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T01:51:27","slug":"el-consejo-de-educacion-tributaria-de-california-advierte-a-los-contribuyentes-sobre-estafas-comunes-de-reembolso-de-impuestos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/el-consejo-de-educacion-tributaria-de-california-advierte-a-los-contribuyentes-sobre-estafas-comunes-de-reembolso-de-impuestos\/","title":{"rendered":"The California Tax Education Council Warns Taxpayers of Common Tax Refund Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><![CDATA[\n\/* Style Definitions *\/\nspan.prnews_span\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\na.prnews_a\n{\ncolor:blue;\n}\nli.prnews_li\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\np.prnews_p\n{\nfont-size:0.62em;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\nmargin:0in;\n}\n.prntac{\nTEXT-ALIGN: CENTER\n}\n\n]]><\/style>\n<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<p class=\"prntac\"><i>CTEC warns against the most common ways scammers steal taxpayer refunds.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"legendSpanClass\">SACRAMENTO, Calif.<\/span>, <span class=\"legendSpanClass\">March 11, 2026<\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ &#8212; Tax season isn&#8217;t just about gathering paperwork\u2014it is also a time when\u00a0scammers are especially active, targeting unsuspecting taxpayers.<\/p>\n<div id=\"prni_dvprnejpg4d7fleft\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"width: 100%; text-align: left;\"><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"prnejpg4d7fleft\" title=\"CTEC Logo\" src=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/2868341\/CTEC_Logo.jpg\" alt=\"CTEC Logo\" align=\"middle\"\/><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;A lot of people don&#8217;t know that tax preparers aren&#8217;t allowed to charge a fee based on the size of your refund,&#8221; said Fernando Angell, chair of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/edge.prnewswire.com\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4638139-1&amp;h=3032511567&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ctec.org%2F&amp;a=California+Tax+Education+Council+(CTEC)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">California Tax Education Council (CTEC)<\/a>, the state-mandated nonprofit that oversees approximately 40,000 tax preparers. &#8220;It&#8217;s also important to stay away from advertisements that guarantee tax refunds\u2014no legitimate preparer can promise a refund before reviewing your information.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Angell emphasizes that the best way to maximize your refund and avoid IRS issues is to work with a tax preparer who is properly educated and current on tax laws. In California, anyone who prepares tax returns for a fee must be either an <a href=\"https:\/\/edge.prnewswire.com\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4638139-1&amp;h=2614830484&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fapps.calbar.ca.gov%2Fattorney%2FLicenseeSearch%2FQuickSearch&amp;a=attorney\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">attorney<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/edge.prnewswire.com\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4638139-1&amp;h=2113456198&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cba.ca.gov%2F&amp;a=certified+public+accountant+(CPA)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">certified public accountant (CPA)<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/edge.prnewswire.com\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4638139-1&amp;h=2820710376&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fctec.org%2Ftaxpreparers%2F&amp;a=CTEC-registered+tax+preparer+(CRTP)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">CTEC-registered tax preparer (CRTP)<\/a>, or an <a href=\"https:\/\/edge.prnewswire.com\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4638139-1&amp;h=901136521&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irs.gov%2Ftax-professionals%2Fverify-the-status-of-an-enrolled-agent&amp;a=enrolled+agent+(EA)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">enrolled agent (EA)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these requirements, some &#8220;ghost&#8221; preparers continue to operate illegally, often taking clients&#8217; money and disappearing.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;These scammers are tough to track down because they vanish after getting paid,&#8221; said Lester Crawford, CRTP and CTEC board member. &#8220;Every year, we hear from people who never see their refund or the preparer again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><b>Three Key Facts to Protect Your Refund:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li><b>Your refund should always go directly to you.<\/b> Never allow a preparer to deposit your refund into their own bank account.\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Fees should be based on the complexity of your return\u2014not the size of your refund.<\/b> Avoid anyone who charges a percentage of your refund as their fee.\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Be cautious of &#8216;guaranteed&#8217; refunds.<\/b> No reputable preparer will promise a refund before reviewing your information; they will only ensure you receive what you&#8217;re entitled to under the law.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>CTEC protects taxpayers from fraud and unqualified preparers. To learn more or report unregistered tax preparers, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/edge.prnewswire.com\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4638139-1&amp;h=2177367118&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fctec.org%2F&amp;a=ctec.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">ctec.org<\/a>. Listen to helpful podcasts at <a href=\"https:\/\/edge.prnewswire.com\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4638139-1&amp;h=2734515197&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Ftaxpayerbeware.org%2F&amp;a=taxpayerbeware.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">taxpayerbeware.org<\/a> and in Spanish at <a href=\"https:\/\/edge.prnewswire.com\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4638139-1&amp;h=1004715212&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fcontribuyentecuidese.org%2F&amp;a=contribuyentecuidese.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">contribuyentecuidese.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Logo &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/edge.prnewswire.com\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4638139-1&amp;h=619217419&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fmma.prnewswire.com%2Fmedia%2F2868341%2FCTEC_Logo.jpg&amp;a=https%3A%2F%2Fmma.prnewswire.com%2Fmedia%2F2868341%2FCTEC_Logo.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/2868341\/CTEC_Logo.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>SOURCE California Tax Education Council (CTEC)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<p class=\"prntac\"><i>CTEC warns against the most common ways scammers steal taxpayer refunds.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"legendSpanClass\">SACRAMENTO, Calif.<\/span>, <span class=\"legendSpanClass\">March 11, 2026<\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ &#8212; Tax season isn&#8217;t just about gathering paperwork\u2014it is also a time when\u00a0scammers are especially active, targeting unsuspecting taxpayers.<\/p>\n<div id=\"prni_dvprnejpg4d7fleft\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"width: 100%;text-align: left\">&lt;img id=&quot;prnejpg4d7fleft&quot; title=&quot;CTEC Logo&quot;&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-274740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interes-humano"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274740"}],"version-history":[{"count":"1","href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":274741,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274740\/revisions\/274741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}