IRS Warns Murrieta Taxpayers to be Alert to Phone Scams

With the federal tax filing deadline days away, crooks are attempting to cash in on taxpayers’ anxieties, engaging in phone scams throughout the Inland Empire and other regions of the country to cajole people into paying money they don’t owe, according to the IRS.

The agency released a statement this week saying a “surge” of scams have been identified in which ripoff artists use threats and false identities in an effort to steal from unsuspecting targets.

“They often leave ‘urgent’ callback requests and sometimes prey on the most vulnerable people, such as the elderly, newly arrived immigrants and those whose first language is not English,” according to the IRS. “Scammers have been known to impersonate agents from IRS Criminal Investigation as well.”

Officials said taxpayers should keep the following in mind if they receive a call from an individual purporting to be from the IRS:

• no government employee will demand immediate payment over the phone, or call about taxes without first sending a notice in the mail
• no one from the IRS will demand a tax payment without giving an individual the option to appeal or question the tax bill
• a government representative will never require a specific payment for taxes, such as a debit card, nor will credit or debit card numbers be requested via telephone
• an IRS agent will not threaten to send local law enforcement officers to effect an arrest for failure to pay taxes

The agency asked victims to report phone scams to the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at (800) 366-4484, or via the Internet at http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml .

– City News Service.