The Internal Revenue Service is warning tax preparers about thieves trying to take advantage at tax time.

Gustavo Torres has been doing people’s taxes in Kissimmee for 15 years. The pandemic pushed him to go 100% digital, so as he tries to run a paperless business, he’s reinforcing and updating his technology.

“You have to make an effort to learn about what is happening right now and get in the middle of this action,” he said.

Horacio Maysonet the President and CEO of Cyber Security Solutions recommends that those who are still looking to do their taxes this season, ask tax preparers about their data privacy measures. “They know they can target a tax preparer in that community and take hundreds of records of sensitive information,” Maysonet said. “Credit cards are sold in the dark web for $1 a piece, tax preparer information has been calculated to cost about $47 a piece.”

According to the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft is the No. 1 type of fraud type in the state of Florida. Just last year there were 12,297 identity theft reports in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford area.

Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office sent News 13 a statement on the matter, that in part reads, “The COVID-19 pandemic has created new opportunities for scammers and hackers to prey on Floridians, and I expect their determination to steal your identity this tax season will only become more emboldened and brazen,” Moody said. “Floridians should guard against potential tax identity theft scams by protecting personal information, spotting red flags and being wary of unknown tax preparers. If you are suspicious of a tax identity theft scam, please report it to the Internal Revenue Service and my office by calling 1-866-9NO-SCAM or visiting MyFloridaLegal.com.”