Police: Aldie Woman Rejects Brazen Phone Scam

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An Aldie woman avoided being burned by a phone scam Tuesday involving taxes, even when the suspects came to her home, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.

The resident, who lives in the 42500 block of Offenham Terrace, told sheriff’s deputies that at about 10:11 a.m. Tuesday, she received a call that displayed ‘911’ on her phone. The caller said she owed back taxes and if she did not pay, she would be arrested.

The caller said a cab would come to her home to take her to a store, where she could wire the money she owed. A cab and a red SUV driven by a dark-skinned male arrived at the home, but the resident refused to answer the door, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office is investigating the incident.

Officials with the Internal Revenue Service say they don’t operate this way. “Taxpayers should remember their first contact with the IRS will not be a call from out of the blue, but through official correspondence sent through the mail,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a statement.

“A big red flag for these scams are angry, threatening calls from people who say they are from the IRS and urging immediate payment,” he said. “People should hang up immediately and contact TIGTA [Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration] or the IRS.”

Additionally, it is important for taxpayers to know that the IRS:

• Never asks for credit card, debit card or prepaid card information over the telephone.
• Never insists that taxpayers use a specific payment method to pay tax obligations.
• Never requests immediate payment over the telephone and will not take enforcement action immediately following a phone conversation.
• Taxpayers usually receive prior notification of IRS enforcement action involving IRS tax liens or levies.

For more information, check out the IRS webpage here.