Suffolk Police Warn Residents of Phone Scam

The Suffolk County Police Department warned residents on Thursday of a telephone scam in which scammers pretend to be Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees looking for unpaid taxes.

During a recent incident in Suffolk, police say a resident received four calls during the course of two days with a recorded message, purported to be from the IRS, asking the resident to contact a number provided on the message.

Upon calling the number, the resident was connected to a man who stated that the caller was the subject of a lawsuit for failing to pay taxes and certain personal identifying information was needed to stop the lawsuit from going forward, police said. Additionally, the man stated a fee needed to be paid to stop the lawsuit.

Members of the public are advised that these are scam tactics. The IRS will never:

• Call to demand immediate payment, nor call about taxes owed without first having mailed a bill.
• Demand that taxes be paid without giving a taxpayer the opportunity to question or appeal the amount owed.
• Require you to use a specific payment method, 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 enact an arrest for non-payment.

The Suffolk County Police Department advises residents not to give out any personal information during the call. If you feel that you have been a victim of this scam, you are advised to call 911 to report the incident to police.

For further information on scams, you can visit www.suffolkpd.org and click on the Scam Alert icon.