The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has an article recently posted in their web page warning taxpayers of fraudulent phone calls by individuals misrepresenting themselves as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees.
TIGTA advised that although some progress is being made in its investigation of phone fraud scam, resulting in the successful prosecution of some individuals associated with it over the past year, taxpayers must continue to be on “High Alert”.
According to TIGTA they continues to receive reports of thousands of contacts every month in which individuals make unsolicited calls to taxpayers fraudulently claiming to be IRS officials and demanding that they send them cash via prepaid debit cards.
Even after the tax filing season has ended, it is critical that all taxpayers continue to be wary of unsolicited telephone calls from individuals claiming to be IRS employees.
The callers are aggressive, they are relentless and they are ruthless. Once they have your attention, they will say anything to con you out of your hard-earned cash.
TIGTA has received reports of roughly 736,000 contacts since October 2013 and has become aware of approximately 4,550 victims who have collectively paid over $23 million as a result of the scam, in which criminals make unsolicited calls to taxpayers fraudulently claiming to be IRS officials and demanding that they send them cash via prepaid debit cards.
Remember: The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by telephone or email 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 call taxpayers with threats of lawsuits or arrests.
The IRS generally first contacts people by mail – not by phone – about unpaid taxes and the IRS will not ask for payment using a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. The IRS also will not ask for a credit card number over the phone.
Again, do not engage with these callers. If they call you, hang up the telephone.
