AG warns against perennial tax scam
BPC Staff Jan 27, 2016 | 10:39 pm
1 min read time
331 wordsAll Latest News, Government Policy and LawNow that it’s tax filing season, Attorney General Tom Miller is again warning Iowans about a recurring telephone tax scam.
The scam involves live callers or robocalls purportedly from the Internal Revenue Service regarding supposed back taxes or unpaid penalties. Callers threaten victims with arrest or court actions if they don’t pay immediately through prepaid debit cards, wire transfers or money orders. Criminals often spoof caller-ID devices to display bogus numbers or even legitimate IRS phone numbers.
“This is one of the longest-running and most pervasive scams our office has ever encountered,” Miller said in a release. “On a daily basis, Iowans continue to complain to our Consumer Protection Division about threatening calls from aggressive people who claim they’re with the IRS and demand immediate payment.”
Anyone receiving a call like this should immediately hang up the phone and not discuss anything with the caller, Miller said.
According to the IRS, the agency generally contacts taxpayers about unpaid taxes through the mail, not by phone. The agency never requests personal or financial information by email, text messages or social media.
“The phone fraud scam has become an epidemic, robbing taxpayers of millions of dollars of their money,” the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a new warning issued by the agency. “This scam has proven to be the largest of its kind that we have ever seen.”
IRS advice to those who receive this type of call:
- If you owe federal taxes or penalties, or want to confirm whether you do, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. IRS representatives can answer questions about your tax status and payments.
- If you don’t owe taxes, report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at www.treasury.gov/tigta or 800-366-4484.
- File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov.
- The IRS never requests personal information by email, text or social media. If you receive such a message, forward it to phishing@irs.gov.Do not open any attachments or click on links contained within those emails.
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