Phone scam targeting taxpayers, according to IRS
The Internal Revenue Service is not often thought of in a friendly light by the average tax payer, but they remain a valuable font of information about tax issues the country over. As Nevada residents may have heard, the IRS recently reported on a highly advanced phone scam that has been created to steal valuable financial and personal information from the unwary. According to the IRS, new immigrants are particularly vulnerable to this sort of dishonest enterprise.
The scam is initiated by a telephone call that warns the victim that they owe money to the IRS which must be paid at once through digital channels. Victims who counter this claim are often threatened with license suspensions and even deportation in the case of new immigrants. The scam is remarkably sophisticated according to IRS investigators, as many of the scam artists have access to partial social security numbers, fake IRS badge numbers and even a toll-free number that fools caller display into believing the IRS is indeed calling.
IRS officials remind Nevada residents that at no time will a genuine IRS employee require payment over the phone, request a credit card number or ask for a wire transfer. Anyone making threats or being overtly confrontational should be treated with equal suspicion. The best bet in circumstances like this is to hang up and call the IRS to confirm the claims with a legitimate representative.
Tax repayment is an issue the IRS takes seriously, but the organization does not take it to the sorts of extremes illustrated by this scam. It is ultimately the responsibility of the taxpayer to stay up-to-date on their standing with the IRS. It is also beneficial for taxpayers to understand the payment process so they can avoid falling for the potentially damaging tricks of dishonest people.
Source: IRS warns of phone scam
