IRS Phone Scam Dupes Fairfax Woman

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — The notorious IRS phone scam has reared its conniving head again, this time victimizing a woman in the 3800 block of Janice Road.

According to Fairfax Police, the woman received a phone call from a male suspect claiming to be from the IRS.

He told her unless she made an immediate payment by purchasing a gift card, she would be sued. She complied but then became suspicious and called her accountant, who advised her to call police.

The same IRS scam happened recently to a Manassas man.

IRS phone scams have been around for quite some time, and the IRS would like you to know the following:

• The IRS never asks for credit card, debit card or prepaid card information over the telephone.
• The IRS never insists that taxpayers use a specific payment method to pay tax obligations.
• The IRS 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.

National Public Radio recently had a segment about the IRS scam, including a nugget that the fake IRS call center is based in a Seattle suburb, "but that could just be a proxy. Pindrop researchers say the ring is hard to pinpoint because it has tools to hide the physical location and the money trail."

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