By Citizens Building & Loan
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, (TIGTA) received almost 736,000 scam reports. Nearly 4,550 were victims who collectively loss over $23 million.
With tax season approaching, phony IRS callers are coming out of the woodwork, demanding that you pay a bogus tax bill. They threaten arrest, deportation or will try to intimidate people into paying money, or giving them personal information like social security numbers. They con victims into sending cash, usually through a prepaid debit card or wire transfer.
If you receive a threatening call or email that is supposedly from the IRS – relax, take a deep breath, and then hang up.
The IRS will not call you or email you if you owe taxes without first sending you a bill in the mail.
Also:
• the IRS will not demand that you pay taxes and not allow you to question or appeal the amount you owe.
• the IRS will not require that you pay your taxes a certain way – such as with a prepaid debit card. Nor will the IRS ask for debit or credit card numbers over the phone.
• The IRS will not threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest you for not paying. If you do in fact feel that you may owe taxes, contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 and speak to someone directly.
• Report IRS scam calls to TIGTA. Use its “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page or call 1-800-366-4484. Also make a report to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov. Add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the subject line.
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