Glen Cove Sees Rise In IRS Scams, Police Say

Glen Cove Police has received multiple calls this past week from residents reporting an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) scam.

According to police, residents typically get a phone call or an email from the scammer, who will claim he or she is an official with the IRS and will demand payment for an overdue tax bill. The "officials" will demand residents to pay them through a wire transfer or a prepaid debit or credit card.

The scammers will threaten the resident with arrest, deportation or a revocation of the license if they do not pay the bill, police say. Oftentimes, the scammers will have personal information about residents or their family members.

Glen Cove Police says the best course of action when dealing with a scammer is to hang up and not engage with them. Also, the IRS would never call residents or demand immediate payment of a tax bill, and would never require them to pay the bill using a prepaid credit card or gift card. If anyone thinks they might owe back taxes, they can call the IRS help line at 1-800-829-1040.

From Glen Cove Police: "Stay vigilant to any unsolicited calls that demand money from you. These scams just keep evolving and the scammers are quite convincing. One week the scammers might be the IRS, the next week they might be a local utility company. The one constant in all of these scams is the requirement to pay the bill with a prepaid credit/debit card, or wire transfer. The IRS website and the Federal Trade Commission website can be used as a great source of information regarding these scams."

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