IRS Phone Scam Targets Clarkstown Residents

On Nov. 17, the Clarkstown Police Department responded to a large number of complaints reporting an IRS phone scam.

Each person said they had received a phone call from a computer-generated female voice saying she was with the Internal Revenue Service and warning the victim the IRS was going to be filing a lawsuit for money ostensibly owed to the government.

The victims were instructed to call 315-307-3190 or 3184. Caller ID showed the calls came from the following area codes, 716, 917 and 932 thru 939.

Clarkstown police would like to remind everyone receiving a phone call from anyone purporting to be from the government demanding money or threatening a lawsuit that this is not the standard protocol of any agency.

These calls should be viewed as a fraud.

In the past, con artists have used other agencies such as Orange and Rockland, cable companies, other public utilities and law enforcement agencies. The pattern is that the caller demands immediate payment of an alleged debt, and demands that the money be paid using Green Dot cards.

The Clarkstown Police Department is currently investigating these scams with the assistance of State and Federal agencies.

If you have made any payments or have become a victim to this type of scam, please notify your local Police Department.

The IRS asks people who are called by these criminals to report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1.800.366.4484 or at www.tigta.gov. 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.

Remember, too, the IRS does not use email, text messages or any social media to discuss your personal tax issue.

For more information on reporting tax scams, go to www.irs.gov and type “scam” in the search box.