IRS Scam Prompts More Than 50 Calls to Sarasota Police

With the holidays just around the corner and tax season soon to follow, scammers are coming out of the woodwork to part people from their money.

The latest scam making the rounds in Sarasota and other Tampa Bay area communities is one where the bad guys claim to represent the Internal Revenue Service. This scam involves fakers who say they are IRS agents, according to the Sarasota Police Department. The bad guys call residents and say they have an arrest warrant for them.

So far, the Sarasota department has received more than 50 complaints from residents targeted in this scam. No one, so far, has fallen for the scammers’ bluffs.

“It is not common practice for the IRS to call you and tell you that you owe any money,” Det. Steve McDowell of the Sarasota Police Department said in a media release. “The IRS will never ask you for your bank account information, to send money or threaten a lawsuit.”

Residents who receive scam IRS calls can report the crime online at http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml or call 1-800-366-4484.

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