Darien Taxpayers Targeted In 'Sophisticated Phone Scam,' Authorities Warn

DARIEN, CT — Darien police are warning residents about "a sophisticated phone scam that is targeting taxpayers not only in Darien, but throughout the country."

In post on social media and the department's website, officials warn residents to be on the lookout for fake phone calls that claim they owe money to the IRS and "must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer."

"During the conversation the caller obtains the victim’s home address," wrote Darien police in a statement. "If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation, or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting."

After threatening victims with jail time or driver’s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim, according to the department.

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"In a recent incident in Darien, a potential victim was contacted by someone claiming they were a Darien Police Officer who then threatened the victim with arrest. The scam was so complex that the caller I.D. was actually 'spoofed,' and displayed the actual phone number to the Darien Police Department."

From the Darien police release:

Taxpayers need to be aware so they can help protect themselves. The IRS does not and will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone, nor request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer. If someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from the IRS and threatens police arrest, deportation or license revocation if you don’t pay immediately, that is a sign that it really isn’t the IRS calling. The first IRS contact with taxpayers on a tax issue is likely to occur via mail.

Other characteristics of this scam include:

• Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.
  
• Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security Number.
  
• Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it’s the IRS calling.
  
• Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls.
  
• Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.
  
• If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here’s what you should do:
  
• If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue – if there really is such an issue.
  
• If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you’ve never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats as described above), then call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484.
  
• If you’ve been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov. Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" to the comments of your complaint.

Image via Shutterstock

(Editor's Note: Patch is re-posting this story in case you missed it the first time around.)