WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers about bogus phone calls from IRS impersonators demanding payment for the bogus “Federal Student Tax.”
Even though the tax deadline has come and gone, scammers continue to use varied strategies to trick people — in this case, students, the IRS said in a news release.
In this newest twist, callers try to convince people to wire money immediately to the scammer. If the victim does not respond quickly, the scammer threatens to report the student to police.
“These scams and schemes continue to evolve nationwide, and now they’re trying to trick students,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in the statement. “Taxpayers should remain vigilant and not fall prey to these aggressive calls demanding immediate payment of a tax supposedly owed.”
Scam artists frequently masquerade as being from the IRS, a tax company and sometimes a state revenue department. Many scammers use threats to intimidate and bully people into paying a tax bill. They may even threaten to arrest, deport or revoke the driver’s license of their victim if they don’t get the money.
Some examples of the varied tactics seen this year are scammers calling demanding immediate tax payment for taxes owed on an iTunes gift card, trying to get W-2 information from payroll and human resources professionals; calling to “verify” tax return information over the phone; and pretending to be from the tax preparation industry.
The IRS urges taxpayers to stay vigilant against these calls and know the telltale signs of a scam demanding payment. The IRS will never:
• Call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill;
• Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying;
• Demand tax payments without giving the person the opportunity to question or appeal the amount allegedly owed;
• Require a person to use a specific payment method for taxes, such as a prepaid debit card; or
• Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
If a person gets a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money and taxes aren’t owned, the IRS recommends that consumers:
• Don’t give out any information and hang up immediately;
• Contact Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to report the call. Use the “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting webpage at www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml or call 800-366-4484;
• Report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission by visiting its website at www.ftc.gov and clicking on “File a Consumer Complaint.” Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.
Anyone who thinks they may owe taxes may call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040.
For more information on how to report phishing or phone scams, visit www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing.
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