IRS Phone Scam Targets Chappaqua

New Castle police have been receiving an increased number of reports from residents of attempted telephone scams involving a Federal Magistrate and/or Internal Revenue Service.

During the last 36 hours many New Castle residents reported getting calls from an individual identifying himself/herself as an agent of the Federal Magistrate saying that the resident owed back taxes, police said.
The caller states that if the taxes are not paid immediately by phone or wire they or their spouse will be arrested within the next few hours.

According to the IRS:

The IRS reminds people that they can know pretty easily when a supposed IRS caller is a fake. Here are five things the scammers often do but the IRS will not do. Any one of these five things is a tell-tale sign of a scam. The IRS will never:

1. 1. Call you about taxes you owe without first mailing you an official notice.
   2. Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
   3. Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
   4. Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
   5. Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

If you receive one of these calls, hang up the phone. You may report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1.800.366.4484 or at www.tigta.gov. For further information on this scam go to http://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts

The FBI has online advice here on avoiding falling victim to telephone fraud scams.