A giudicare da quanto si legge qui:

"If you chose to get your refund by direct deposit or paper check.
If you selected direct deposit, did you ask the IRS to divide it among multiple accounts?
Was the refund a Refund Anticipation Check or Refund Anticipation Loan? Contact your tax return preparer. " - http://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/get-help/locating-a-refund

e qui:

"Refund anticipation checks or "refund transfers" involve the use of temporary bank accounts set up by tax preparers to receive the tax refunds due to their clients. This allows customers to pay for tax preparation services out of their refund. Once the tax preparer fees are deducted from the federal and New York State refund, what's left is then deposited into a bank account the preparer creates or onto a prepaid card.

...

Refund anticipation loans or "advances" are loans against taxpayers' refunds that may come with additional fees and costs."

si tratta appunto di anticipi sui rimborsi dovuti dal fisco. Il punto sembra essere che ci sono tentativi di truffa o raggiro relativi a questi rimborsi che si appoggiano proprio sul sistema degli assegni e dei prestiti. Incidentalmente, mi ha fatto venire in mente il "Nigerian scam" e la truffa del pagamento anticipato via assegno che ancora si vede abbastanza spesso da queste parti...