We have posted about the topic of IRS scams numerous times because it's a real threat and we want you to be informed. The scammers are at it again and this time they've targeted more than 366,000 individuals. MSN is reporting these fake IRS agents have made phone calls demanding payments and threatening jail time.
You can read the full article here.
In a December 4, 2014 post we talked about a similar phone scam that look place in West Tennessee. Remember that the IRS has specific information on what to do if you believe you are being targeted by a fake IRS agent:
- “If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue, if there really is such an issue;
- If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats as described above), then call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1.800.366.4484.
- You can file a complaint using the FTC Complaint Assistant; choose ‘Other’ and then ‘Imposter Scams.’ If the complaint involves someone impersonating the IRS, include the words ‘IRS Telephone Scam’ in the notes.”
The IRS will never initiate collections through a phone call. The IRS always contacts taxpayers in writing if it believes taxes are owed to the government, and the IRS never asks for a specific payment method, such as was tried in this recent scam attempt.
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