Officials Say the Actual IRS Will Never Make First Contact by Phone

Con artists posing as Internal Revenue Service agents are back in the news. Despite previous warnings from government officials, some taxpayers still haven’t gotten the message.

“There are clear warning signs about these scams, which continue at high levels throughout the nation,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said recently. “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. A big red flag for these scams are angry, threatening calls from people who say they are from the IRS and urging immediate payment.”

“This is not how we operate,” he said. “People should hang up immediately” and contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (www.tigta. gov) or the IRS. On the TIGTA site, click on “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting.”

Government officials have received about 90,000 complaints through a telephone hotline since late 2013, says a TIGTA spokesman. About 1,100 victims have lost an estimated $5 million from these scams.

Scamsters may try to claim that you owe money or are entitled to a big refund, officials say. Callers might use phony names and IRS badge numbers. They might even know the last four digits of your Social Security number.

Real IRS representatives “never” ask for credit-card, debit-card or prepaid card information over the phone, the IRS said. They also never insist that you use a specific payment method. And they never demand immediate payment over the phone, the IRS says.

If you get a suspicious call and think you owe taxes, hang up and call the IRS (800-829- 1040). If you have no reason to think you owe anything, call TIGTA (800-366-4484), and tell the Federal Trade Commission using its “FTC Complaint Assistant” (ftc.gov). Include the words “IRS Telephone Scam.”

By: Tom Herman