Worcester Police Warn of IRS Phone Scam

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Tuesday, December 08, 2015

GoLocalWorcester News Team

The Worcester Police Department is warning residents of an IRS impersonation telephone scam.

The department has recently received a number of reports from residents about callers claiming to be from the IRS and telling them they owe money and must pay.

The intended victims are told that they must pay with a debit card or cash. Those who refuse to pay are threatened with an arrest, or loss of business or driver's license.

Scammers may alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling. Scammers use fake names and false IRS badge numbers. Not answering will often get you an "urgent" callback request.

The IRS has provided the following information regarding the scam:

The IRS does not:

Call you to demand immediate payment. We will not call about taxes you owe without first mailing you a bill.Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the chance to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.Require you to use a certain payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement to have you arrested for not paying.

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, here’s what to do:

If you know you owe taxes or think you might owe, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to talk about payment options. You also may be able to set up a payment plan online at IRS.gov.

If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to believe that you do, report the incident to TIGTA at 1.800.366.4484 or at http://www.tigta.gov.

If phone scammers target you, also contact the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov. Use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” to report the scam. Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" to the comments of your complaint.

Remember, the IRS currently does not use unsolicited email, text messages or any social media to discuss your personal tax issues. For more information on reporting tax scams, go to http://www.irs.gov and type “scam” in the search box.

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