Woburn Police Warn Of Tax Return-Related Scams

WOBURN, MA — Woburn police warned residents Friday of common scams involving tax-filing season.

Chief Robert Rufo warned of two main tax scams. In one, scammers try to file taxes in other people's names. When residents then try to file, they find their tax returns have been submitted already.

To avoid falling victim to this scam, the department encouraged residents to file their tax as soon as possible, to give potential scammers less time to steal their identity.

The other common scam involves the scammers claiming to be from the IRS or another government body.

"The scammer informs victims that they did not pay, or incorrectly filed their taxes and now owe money to the IRS, which must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer," the department said. "If victims refuse to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license."

The department noted that while scammers sometimes claim to represent a local police department, local police have no involvement in the enforcement of federal tax laws.

Rufo gave the following tips on avoiding becoming a victim of an IRS:

• "If you owe back taxes, the IRS will contact you by mail, and not by phone, email or social media.
• The IRS never requests personal or financial information by email, text or social media. (The IRS says it has no way to text people.)
• The IRS does not leave prerecorded or urgent voicemails.
• The IRS will not ask for payment using a pre-paid debit card, gift cards, a money order or wire transfer.
• The IRS will not ask for a credit card number over the phone."

Another version of the fake IRS employee scam involves asking for a small fee to qualify for a stimulus check, the department said. The government does not require anyone to pay anything to get a stimulus payment.

"If you receive a call from an IRS scammer, hang up," the department said. "Do not engage with these callers. If you get a call from someone claiming to be with the IRS asking for a payment, or if you think you may owe money, hang up and call the IRS directly at 800-829-1040."

If you get a scam call and do not owe taxes, you can fill out an IRS impersonation scam at treasury.gov or call the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484 You can also forward scam emails to phishing@irs.gov.

Residents can also call the Woburn police if they're unsure about a potential scam at 781-933-1212.