IRS Warns of Scams – Beware!

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Last week the IRS issued a newswire informing taxpayers to be wary of tax scams. In the past we’ve warned clients about emails or letters that appear to be on IRS letterhead. Now, scammers are more creative and they are calling taxpayers and asking for payments or personal information over the phone. These phone calls can sound real as the scammer will even provide an “agent identification number” and ask the taxpayer to call back at a certain number. In the beginning the scammers targeted the elderly and immigrants, but now they are targeting everyone.  Since October 2013, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has received an estimated 600,000 complaints of scammers and at least 4,000 who reported losses of $20 million.

Per the IRS newswire,

“It is important to remember the official IRS website is IRS.gov. Taxpayers are urged not to be confused or misled by sites claiming to be the IRS but ending in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov.  Taxpayers should never provide personal information, financial or otherwise, to suspicious websites or strangers calling out of the blue.

Below are five things scammers often do that the real IRS would never do:

The IRS will never:

  • Angrily demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
  • Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
  • Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
  • Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
  • Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

Here’s what you should do if you think you’re the target of an IRS impersonation scam:

  • If you actually do owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you with a payment issue.
  • If you know you don’t owe taxes or do not immediately believe that you do, you can report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1-800-366-4484.
  • If you’ve been targeted by any scam, be sure to contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their FTC Compliant Assistant at FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your complaint.”

Feel free to contact us with any question.