Southampton Town Police Alert Residents of IRS Phone Scam

Southampton Town Police are alerting the public regarding an IRS phone scam.

The scam involves callers pretending to be from the IRS calling people to tell them there is a warrant for their arrest due to back taxes owed.

The public should not send any wire transfers, western union checks, or purchase any green dot cards, police said.

The IRS will not:

1. Call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
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 get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, here’s what you should do:

• If you know you owe taxes or think you might owe, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS workers can help you with a payment issue.
• If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to believe that you do, report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1-800-366-4484 or at www.tigta.gov
• If you’ve been targeted by this scam, 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.

Additional information about tax scams is available on IRS social media sites, including YouTube and Tumblr, where people can search “scam” to find all the scam-related posts.

Residents are advised to ask for a contact number and a name from the subject, call their local law enforcement agency to advise them of the scam, and not to send money.

Related stories:

East Hampton Town Police Warn Residents of Phone Scam