IRS Tax Scam – Awareness is the Best Defense!
There has been a scam going around in which individuals call pretending to be from the IRS. They may demand money for unpaid taxes, or claim that there is a warrant out for the person’s arrest and that the police are on the their way.
Don’t be fooled.
IRS Tax Scam Video
Some things the IRS will NEVER do:
- The IRS will never call to demand immediate payment.
- They will not call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
- They will never demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
- They will never ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
- They will never threaten to bring in local police or any other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
Scammers claiming to be Internal Revenue Service agents are at it again, and they’re costing taxpayers a lot of money.
More than 366,000 people have been targeted by tax season scammers over the last two years, the Associated Press reports. The scammers, who pretend to be IRS agents and target victims with harassing phone calls and threats of jail time, have collected $15.5 million since 2013.
Around 3,000 people in states across the country have actually made payments to these false agents. One person lost more than half a million dollars, the AP reports.
Timothy Camus, a Treasury Department official, said that “the number of complaints we have received about this scam make it the largest, most pervasive impersonation scam in the history of our agency.”
How to Report an IRS Tax Scam
Terry Thomson, a licensed enrolled agent and owner of Thomson and Associates, recommends reporting incidents right away. If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1-800-366-4484 or at www.tigta.gov.
You can also file a complaint using the FTC Complaint Assistant: Choose “Other” and then “Imposter Scams.” If the complaint involves someone impersonating the IRS, include the words “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.
The IRS does NOT use unsolicited email, text messages or any social media to contact you or discuss your personal tax issues.
For more information Tax Scams/Consumer Alerts at IRS.gov.
Fake IRS Agents Target 366,000 in Massive Tax Scam
More than 3,000 people have fallen for the ruse, Timothy Camus, a Treasury deputy inspector general for tax administration, said Thursday. They have been duped out of a total of $15.5 million. People in every state have been targeted. “The number of complaints we have received about this scam make it the largest, most pervasive impersonation scam in the history of our agency,” Camus told the Senate Finance Committee at a hearing. The scam is so widespread that investigators believe there is more than one group of perpetrators, including some overseas.
As part of the scam, fake IRS agents call taxpayers, claim they owe taxes, and demand payment using a prepaid debit card or a wire transfer. Those who refuse are threatened with arrest, deportation or loss of a business or driver’s license, Camus said. The callers might even know the last four digits of the taxpayer’s Social Security number, Camus said.
Being informed is your best defense!