Police warn residents in West Springfield on telephone scammers claiming to be IRS agents. In fact, this scam is happening all over the country - and is likely to continue because the IRS says that thieves have swindled more than $ 5 million victims already
Here's how it works :. You get a call from an alleged agent who tells you that you owe back taxes. These are very sophisticated fraudsters - they can usurp the IRS toll fees on caller ID to make it appear that it is the IRS call. They may even know the last 4 digits of your social security number. The caller threatened to imprison you, send the police evict you, seize assets or freeze accounts if you do not take immediate action. Callers are said to be very aggressive and threatening and make repeated calls. After hanging up, they may have other people call you claim they are the local police or other officials who "corroborate" the scam.
Another alternative is to tell you that they need you money and they need details of your bank account to send it to you. There is always a "you must act immediately" aspect to the scam
A couple North Carolina described how the scam that defrauded of $ 16,000 went :. They withdrew from the money from the bank and bought a prepaid credit card and read the fake agent on the phone number.
who are the most vulnerable victims? the elders. concerned deportation immigrants. people who actually owe money and are worried about it. but everyone, really. most of us think that we are too smart to be scammed, but even smart people can be fooled by criminals teachers who know how to prey expert on our confidence, our fears or our greed.
If you have relatives or elderly neighbors, you may want to alert them to the scam
this is what the IRS says:
IRS has issued repeated warnings, but issued a recent warning phone scam because of the volume of calls that take place across the country.
There are clear signs of warning about these scams, which continue at high levels throughout the nation, "said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "Taxpayers should remember their first contact with the IRS will not be a call out of the blue, but through official correspondence sent by mail. A big red flag for these scams are angry calls from people who say they are from the IRS and urging immediate payment threatening. This is not how we operate. people should hang up immediately and contact the IRS or TIGTA "
in addition, it is important for taxpayers to know that the IRS :.
- never request credit card, debit card or prepaid phone card.
- never insists that taxpayers use a specific method of payment to pay the tax obligations
- never demand immediate payment by phone and will not take enforcement action immediately after a telephone conversation. Taxpayers usually receive a notice of IRS enforcement action involving IRS liens or taxes.
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