Police Warn of IRS Phone Scam

Photo: File

A new round of phone scammers claiming to be Internal Revenue Service are targeting Nassau County residents, investigators said.

Nassau County Police said multiple residents have reportedly received calls from people claiming to be federal employees. These scammers claim that the resident or one of their family members owe money for unpaid taxes and could face jail, foreclosure, or suspension and termination of services, cops said. The scammer then says they can avoid consequences by making a payment, police said.

The scams can cost residents “thousands of unrecoverable dollars,” detectives said.

“The IRS does not and will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone, nor request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer,” said NCPD in a statement.

Several variations of the scam have been reported, police said, and 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.

Other scams, like lottery sweepstakes and debt relief claims, have also been reported in the area, cops said.

Detectives are asking anyone who believes they are a victim or have received a scam call to dial 911 immediately. Anyone with information that could lead to an arrest should also call 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.

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