Tax Scam

Tax Scams

Complaints to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about Internal Revenue Service (IRS) imposter scams have increased over the last year.

Report this scam to:

• IRS at:  www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Fraud-Alerts or by calling 1-800-829-1040
• Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at:  www.tigta.gov or by calling 1-800-366-4484
• Federal Trade Commission at: www.ftc.gov/complaint or by calling 1-877-382-4357
• Warn family and friends

 

Here's what happens:

• You get a call from a scammer pretending to be with the IRS, saying you'll be arrested, deported or you will lose your driver's license if you don't pay taxes you owe right now.
• You're told to wire the money or put the money on a prepaid debit card.
• The caller may have a heavy foreign accent.
• They may use common names and fake badge numbers.
• The fake IRS agents sometimes turn hostile during the call and may even use threatening language, which an IRS employee would never do.
• Some can provide your social security number and have a fake caller ID.

 

Warning signs:

• The first contact with the IRS will not be a call from out of the blue or by email, but through official correspondence sent through the US Postal Service.
• No employee from the IRS will threaten you.
• The IRS will not ask you to wire money, pay with a prepaid debit card, or share your credit card information over the phone.  The IRS does not demand that taxpayers use a specific payment method, like a prepaid card, when paying owed taxes.

 

What you should do:

• Don't give the caller any information such as your financial or other personal information.
• Write down details such as the number and name of the caller.
• Hang up.