Don't be fooled by scammers impersonating IRS officials
I have previously posted a blog on scams by individuals pretending to be IRS agents. Maryand Delegate Kumar Barve is distributing the following message to Maryland residents. Seniors are among the favorite targets for these scams. Please share this information with a warning to those within your circles of contacts. The warning may save someone thousands of dollars.
Even though this is not tax season, you need to be aware of the latest scam by people impersonating IRS officials. Specifically, some people have already received bogus phone calls from the IRS which ask for your response with personal information. Don't be fooled.
In these scams, thieves make unsolicited phone calls to their intended victims. Callers fraudulently claim to be from the IRS and demand immediate payment of taxes by a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. The callers are often hostile and abusive.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has received 90,000 complaints about these scams. TIGTA estimates that thieves have stolen an estimated $5 million from about 1,100 victims. To avoid becoming a victim of these scams, you should know:
- The IRS will first contact you by mail if you owe taxes, not by phone.
- The IRS never asks for credit, debit or prepaid card information over the phone.
- The IRS never insists that you use a specific payment method to pay your tax.
- The IRS never requests immediate payment over the telephone.
- The IRS will always treat you professionally and courteously.
Again, the IRS never contacts individuals by phone.
If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here’s what you should do:
- If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS employees can help you with a payment issue if you owe taxes.
- If you know you don’t owe taxes or don’t think that you owe any taxes, then call and report the incident to TIGTA at 800-366-4484.
- If scammers have tried this scam on you, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov. Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" to the comments of your complaint.
The IRS encourages you to be vigilant against phone and email scams that use the IRS as a lure. Visit the genuine IRS website, IRS.gov, to learn how to report tax fraud and for more information on what you can do to avoid becoming a victim.
Sincerely,
Kumar P. Barve
Majority Leader
Photograph by Roy Kelley
Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs
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