Counties warned of IRS phone scam

SANDERS AND MINERAL COUNTY - As tax season comes to a close, consumers need to be aware of sophisticated phone scams targeting individuals throughout the country. Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer.

Those who resist are threatened with arrest, fines, suspension of a business or driver’s license, even deportation if the caller feels they are vulnerable to that.

The IRS does not and will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone, or request pre-paid debit cards or wire transfers. The first IRS contact with taxpayers on a tax issue is most likely to occur via mail.

This scam uses many techniques to try and convince people to give up personal information. The scammers use fake names and fake IRS badge numbers, and may be able to recite the last four digits of a victims Social Security number. They may be able to make the IRS toll-free number appear on caller ID. They may send bogus e-mails to the same victim they are calling. They may have fake background noise to sound like a call center. After they threaten jail time or driver’s license revocation, the scammers hang up and then others call back soon pretending to be the police or DMV. Again, caller ID seems to support their claim.

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, there are actions to take. You can call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to check if there is an issue. If you know you don’t owe any taxes you can report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484. You can also contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-382-4357 or www.FTC.gov.

The most important thing is, don’t give them any money or personalinformation.

The IRS encourages taxpayers to be vigilant against phone and e-mail scams that use the IRS as a lure. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by e-mail to request personal or financial information. This includes any type of electronic communication such as text messages and social media channels. The IRS does not ask for PINs, passwords, or similar confidential access information for credit cards, bank or other financial accounts.

Recipients of such messages should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, forward the e-mail to www.phishing@irs.gov.