IRS Phone Scammers Changing Tactics

WESTFORD, MA - Scammers have been calling people on the phone and pretending to be IRS agents but now the crooks have developed a new tactic.

The Town of Westford posted an announcement from the IRS warning that scammers are now pretending to be employees verifying tax return information over the phone.

In the scam, someone will call saying they have your tax return and need to verify a few details in order to process it. The scammer then tries to get you to give up personal information such as a Social Security number, bank numbers or credit cards.

“These schemes continue to adapt and evolve in an attempt to catch people off guard just as they are preparing their tax returns,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in the news release. “Don’t be fooled. The IRS won’t be calling you out of the blue asking you to verify your personal tax information or aggressively threatening you to make an immediate payment.”

In a more commonly seen phone scam someone will call claiming to be an IRS agent and demand the victim pay a "bogus" tax bill. The scammer will demand the victim send money via a prepaid debit card or wire and may even threaten to arrest, deport or revoke the license of their victim if they don’t get the money.

This January, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) announced there have been about 896,000 phone scams reported since October 2013 resulting in roughly 5,000 victims who have collectively been scammed out of $26.5 million. The IRS has seen a 400 percent increase in phishing schemes this year.

Here are some tips from the IRS:

The IRS will never:

Call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you several bills.Call or email you to verify your identity by asking for personal and financial information.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 or email.Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money or to verify your identity, here’s what you should do:

If you don’t owe taxes, or have no reason to think that you do:

• Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.
• Contact TIGTA to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page. You can also call 800-366-4484.
• Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.
  

If you know you owe, or think you may owe tax:

Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you.