The tax filing season is a popular time for scammers to call and dupe unsuspecting taxpayers. These thieves often make threatening or alarming calls posing as the IRS to try to steal taxpayer money or personal information.
The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages, or social media channels to request personal or financial information. This includes requests for PIN numbers, passwords, or similar access information for credit cards, banks, or other financial accounts.
It’s easy for people to recognize this scam by knowing how the IRS contacts taxpayers.
The IRS will never:
- Call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card, or wire transfer. Generally, the IRS will first mail a bill to any taxpayer who owes taxes.
- 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.
- Call unexpectedly about a tax refund.
Taxpayers who receive these phone calls should:
- Record the number and then hang up the phone immediately.
- Report the call by visiting the Hotline page of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and using an IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting form or by calling 800-366-4484.
- Forms to report fraud are available on the Hotline page of Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration website. Taxpayers need to click the appropriate option under “IRS Scams and Fraud” and follow the instructions.
- Report the number by sending an email to phishing@irs.gov and put “IRS Phone Scam” in the subject line.
If you feel you’ve been contacted by a scammer posing as someone from the IRS, an additional way you can report their actions to the IRS is at this website https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/report-phishing
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