For many people, few things are more intimidating than a threatening call from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), but what you might not know is that the IRS almost never initiates contact by phone. Crooks impersonating that IRS, however, have been running a phone scam designed to steal your money by impersonating the IRS and making frightening threats.
The Basics
These scammers will tell you that you owe taxes, and demand that you pay over the phone using a pre-paid credit card or send a wire transfer. They threaten their victims with arrest, loss of their business or drivers’ license, or with deportation. They often target new immigrants.
Tactics They Use to Look Legit
These scammers are wily. They have ways of making it look like they are really from the IRS. Don’t fall for it. Here are some examples of their tactics:
- They know the last four of your Social
- They show up on your caller ID as being the IRS
- They identify themselves with legitimate sounding names and badge numbers
- They send follow-up emails
- They call back claiming to be cops or DMV reps, and the caller ID confirms it
If you get a phone call from the IRS, do not give the caller anything. Call the IRS directly, and don’t use the number from the caller ID to do it.
