The Police Department has received several calls from citizens receiving IRS phone scam calls. Here is what you should know. The latest IRS phone scam alleges there is fraud and misconduct associated with your taxes and urges you to return the call immediately. You may even be told that you are being sued by the IRS. 

If the IRS wants to get in touch with a taxpayer, it sends a letter – not an email, not a phone call and definitely not a message over social media.  This is especially true in cases of tax fraud. So when you get a voicemail admonishing you for supposed issues with the tax return you filed, know that this is the latest IRS phone scam. IRS impersonation scams continue year round but they tend to peak when scammers find prime opportunities to strike. They are aggressive and use threatening phone calls while impersonating IRS agents.

Never return a phone call from someone claiming to be with the IRS. Always be wary if you are contacted by someone claiming to be from the IRS who says you owe money. And, if you need another surefire sign of a scam – the IRS will never demand immediate payment or ask for financial information over the phone, threaten to sic law enforcement on you or refuse an appeal.  So, while it may seem obvious, here goes:  Never, ever give your personal financial information – such as Social Security numbers or credit card and bank account numbers and passwords – to anyone who calls you.

Don’t call the police department; instead, here is what you should do:

If the individual is not an IRS employee and does not have a legitimate need to contact you and regardless of whether you were a victim of the scam or not, report the incident to the appropriate agencies, not the police department:

• If IRS-related, please report to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) via their online complaint form.
• If Treasury-related, please report to the Office of the Treasury Inspector General (TIG) viaOIGCounsel@oig.treas.gov

 For any fraudulent call, after listening to the message, do not provide any information and hang up. When you report the fraudulent call, please include:

• The telephone number of the caller (e.g., Caller ID)
• The telephone number you were instructed to call back
• A brief description of the communication

If possible, please include:

• The employee name
• The employee badge number
• The exact date and time that you received the call(s)
• The geographic location and time zone where you received the call if possible

 In addition, please consider filing a complaint with the:

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) via their online complaint form
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by visiting the Consumer Complaint Center. Consumers should select the “phone” form and then the “Unwanted Calls” under “Phone Issues”, and provide details of the call in the description of their complaint
• Your local Attorney General’s office via their consumer complaint form