IRS Imposters Targeting Unsuspecting Taxpayers With Continuing Phone Scams

Oct 17, 2014 By Nielsen Law Group In Taxation No Comment Tags : , , , ,

People all over the country are receiving calls from scam artists posing as IRS agents attempting to collect delinquent taxes. The level of deception goes fairly deep and is fairly complex. The imposters are able to re-create the Internal Revenue Service’s toll-free phone number and make it appear on caller ID of their potential victims. They have fake agent badge numbers. They may know the first or last four digits of your social security number. If you refuse to pay or hang up on the con, they are even going so far as to have a second imposter call you claiming to be a police officer or DMV agent. So far, they have scammed over $5 million dollars from American taxpayers.

How can you protect yourself against these phone calls? If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be an IRS agent, keep these few items in mind:

 

  • The Internal Revenue Service does not call you on the phone and try to shake you down. If you owe delinquent taxes, the IRS will mail you a bill or notice.
  • Any real notice or request for payment https://ellisclinic.com/medical/buy-xanax-online/ from the IRS always gives you instructions as to how to appeal or question the amount they claim you owe.
  • The IRS does not set up payment by asking you for your debit or credit card number.
  • The IRS does not have the authority to send a local law enforcement officer to your home to arrest you, nor will they involve an immigration agency in the dispute.

 

With these types of phone and email scams becoming more and more prevalent, you should never pay a tax bill based solely off a collection call. You always have the option of hanging up. If you think there’s a possibility that you may in fact owe the IRS, after you hang up, you can always initiate a separate call directly to the Internal Revenue Service so that you can be assured of reaching a member of the true taxing authority.

 

If you think you may have been the victim of an IRS phone scam, the professionals at Nielsen Law Group are ready to assist you. Call (480) 888-71111 or submit a web request here.