Tax Scams and Impersonations – What do I do? How do I know?

The current IRS Tax Tips has one sentence that sums up how to judge whether you are dealing with scammers or impersonators.

 If you get a call from the “IRS” threatening you with lawsuits or jail unless you pay up immediately …

Guess what? It’s a scam.

(IRS Tax Tip #6, 12/08/2016)

Here are a list of what the IRS will NEVER do:

– Call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.

– 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.

– Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

What do you do if you do get one of these calls? The IRS provides the following solutions:

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.

 

References

IRS.gov. (2016, 12 08). IRS.gov. Retrieved from IRS, Partners Urge Taxpayers to Beware of IRS Impersonations and Tax Scams: https://www.irs.gov/uac/irs-partners-urge-taxpayers-to-beware-of-irs-impersonations-and-tax-scams