When a Tax Form Arrives From a Company You’ve Never Worked For
In early February, as the 2026 tax season gathered momentum, Warris Bokhari opened his mailbox to find an unwelcome surprise: a Form 1099-K from Uber Technologies. The document listed approximately $2,317 in gross income earned through dozens of transactions in November and December of the previous year. There was just one problem—Bokhari, a 46-year-old Los Angeles resident and CEO of a health care technology firm, had never driven for Uber, delivered for Uber Eats, or performed any work for the company.
What followed was a weeks-long ordeal to untangle a case of employment identity theft. Someone had used Bokhari’s personal information to fraudulently obtain work and income through the gig platform. In the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service, that “phantom income” was initially tied to him, making him responsible for taxes on earnings he never made. “It’s like a terrible reverse lottery,” Bokhari said. “Your identity can be used by someone else for their gains, and you’re left with bills and debts that you try to undo.”
The Growing Threat of Employment Identity Theft
Bokhari’s experience is part of a troubling and rising trend. Employment-related identity theft occurs when a criminal uses another person’s personally identifiable information—typically a Social Security number—to secure employment and earn wages. Victims often remain unaware until they receive unexpected tax forms like a 1099 or W-2 from an unfamiliar employer.
According to data from the Federal Trade Commission, 31,450 people reported employment or wage-related identity theft during the first three quarters of 2025. This represents a 61% increase compared to the same period in 2021. While the FTC does not separate employment theft from other wage scams, experts note a clear surge linked to the structure of the gig economy.
“Mysterious 1099s” are not new, but they have become “slightly more common” in recent years, particularly within app-based platforms, said Eva Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit that provides free assistance to identity theft victims. The nature of gig work—often remote, app-mediated, and with limited direct employer-employee interaction—can create opportunities for fraudsters to exploit verification gaps. “These 1099s that come out of nowhere can be so destabilizing for people because it’s such a quagmire for them to report and recover from,” Velasquez added.
Navigating the IRS Resolution Process
Resolving tax-related identity theft is notoriously complex. Victims need the issuing company to provide a corrected tax form showing $0 in income, which must then be filed with the IRS and state tax authorities. Without this, a taxpayer’s return may be flagged for unreported income, triggering audits, delays, or erroneous tax bills.
Jeffrey Thompson, a Los Angeles-based enrolled agent (a tax professional licensed to practice before the IRS) and board member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents, advises victims to check their IRS wage and income transcript through their online account to confirm the erroneous 1099 has been removed from their record. The process, he notes, is “time-consuming.”
The IRS recommends several protective steps: obtaining an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN), a six-digit number renewed annually that prevents others from filing a tax return using your Social Security number; placing a free one-year fraud alert with the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion); and reporting the theft to the FTC via IdentityTheft.gov.
The scale of the problem is reflected in the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), an independent organization within the IRS. In fiscal year 2025, TAS received 10,897 identity theft cases, down from 13,649 the prior year but still among the top four reasons taxpayers seek its help. More alarmingly, the average time to resolve an identity theft case stretched to 21 months in FY2025, up from 19 months the year before. “Resolution times for [Identity Theft Victim Assistance] cases remain unacceptably long—nearly two years on average—leaving affected taxpayers without refunds to which they are entitled and prolonging financial hardships,” wrote National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins in her annual report to Congress.
A Path to Resolution and Corporate Response
For Bokhari, resolution came after three weeks of persistent effort. He messaged Uber’s customer service team repeatedly and reached out via email and LinkedIn to senior company officials. Ultimately, a chief of staff at Uber responded, escalated the matter, and the company issued him an amended 1099-K showing $0 in gross income. Uber also filed the corrected form with the IRS, according to a support message reviewed by CNBC.
An Uber spokesperson confirmed the company is aware of the issue, stating: “We’re aware that some people have reported receiving 1099s despite not driving or earning income with Uber, which may indicate their personal information was used fraudulently. Identity theft and tax fraud are serious, evolving issues affecting individuals and businesses across many industries. We take these reports seriously and invest in strong fraud prevention and identity verification systems, which we continuously enhance as tactics evolve.”
The company has created a dedicated help page for individuals who believe they received an erroneous 1099 and encourages them to contact Uber directly for investigation. In a separate blog post, Uber acknowledged that defending against fraudsters requires “constant vigilance” as criminals continually probe for weaknesses in app-based systems.
For victims like Bokhari, the experience underscores a harsh new reality in the digital age: financial identity theft can now manifest as a tax headache with a multi-year resolution timeline. While companies and the IRS have protocols for correction, the burden of proof and the lengthy wait for clearance fall squarely on the victim’s shoulders.
