Nassau County Warns Of IRS Phone Scams During Tax Season

With tax season here, Nassau County officials are warning residents to be on their guard for scammers pretending to be from the IRS.

County Executive Laura Curran and Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder announced that the police department has cases from many residents who received calls from people claiming to be from the IRS, saying that they or a family member owe money for unpaid taxes. In the cases, the victims are told that they can avoid arrest, foreclosure or a termination of services if they make a payment.

County officials said that the IRS will never ask for credit card numbers over the phone, and will never request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer.

Other characteristics of this scam may include:

• Scammers using fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.
• Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security Number.
• Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it’s the IRS calling.
• Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls.
• Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.
• After threatening victims with jail time or driver’s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim with spoofed numbers.

These types of scams can happen to anyone at any time. If you feel that you have been a victim of a telephone solicitation scam, call 911 and report it to the police. And anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of the people responsible are asked to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800- 244-TIPS (8477). All calls remain anonymous.

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