The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has included phone scams on its “Dirty Dozen” list of common tax scams for the 2018 filing season. Taxpayers should be aware of criminals posing as IRS agents and making threatening or aggressive demands for money through phone calls. According to the IRS, this is the time of year when they see a jump in the number of reports of scam phone calls threatening potential victims with arrest, deportation, or license revocation if payment demands are not met immediately.
The IRS reminds taxpayers that legitimate agents will never do the following:
- Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have the taxpayer arrested for not paying.
- Demand that taxes be paid without giving taxpayers the opportunity to question or appeal the amount owed.
- Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
- Call you about an unexpected refund.
If you receive a threatening phone call this tax season, hang up immediately and report the event to the Treasury Inspector General of Tax Administration (TIGTA). More details are available here.
