Anyone who gets a suspicious phone call is asked to report it to the IRS
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office once again is warning the public to be cautious about telephone scams. This time, concern is about one commonly known as the “IRS Scam,” a news release says.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued warnings about this type of scam for several years, a news release notes. Unfortunately, some members of the public remain unaware of it, or when they receive calls similar to the earlier ones, they are not sure what to believe, the release says.
According to the IRS, “con artists claiming to be IRS employees sound convincing and use fake names and bogus IRS [identity] badge numbers when they call,” the release continues. They may know details about the victims or trick them into revealing private information, the release points out. Some scammers will demand payments via iTunes gift cards, Green Dot prepaid cards, MoneyPak prepaid cards, Reloadit prepaid debit cards, and other prepaid credit cards, the release explains. The IRS wants to remind the public “that no legitimate United States Treasury or IRS official will demand that payments via Western Union, MoneyGram, bank wire transfers, or bank deposits be made into another person’s account for any debt to the IRS or [the U.S.] Treasury,” the release says. “A true investigation or lawsuit by the IRS will be handled in person or through certified mail.”
The IRS also requests that all instances of such contacts be reported directly to the agency “since these scams often involve the impersonation of an IRS employee,” the release adds.
A person may visit www.treasury.gov/tigta for more information or file a complaint using this direct link: http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml. Finally, if a person who receives a suspicious phone call knows or thinks he or she might owe taxes, the person should call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040.