‘Don’t fall for it,’ IRS says of scammers’ new tricks

One Ramona woman knows how intimidating and relentless IRS scammers can be. For three hours on Friday, they pounded her with harassing phone calls on her home phone and cell phone, telling her the IRS was suing her and demanding unpaid taxes she allegedly owed.

“At first I was freaked out,” she said, asking that her name not be released.

The caller told her to stay on the cell phone while she went to the bank and withdrew the cash.

“Don’t hang up, don’t notify anybody,” he said.

The caller contended a deputy from the sheriff’s Ramona station was on another line and she’d be arrested if she didn’t do as she was told.

The calls started about 8:30 in the morning on the home phone, which is unlisted. When she hung up, other calls came either on her home or her cell phone.

“They were relentless,” she said. “It was non-stop for three hours.”

She finally stopped answering the phones.

She called the sheriff’s non-emergency number but was unable to reach anyone, so she contacted Supervisor Dianne Jacob’s office. That person told her the next time Jacob has a town hall meeting in Ramona, this type of scam will be on the agenda for discussion.

“I don’t want anyone to lose everything, particularly an elderly person,” she said. “...I love this community and I care, and I would hate to see someone fall for this.”

The caller at times pretended to be someone else, but it sounded like the same voice, she said. He never called her by her last name. It was always, “Miss (first name).”

About two hours before she called the Sentinel, the newspaper received a press release from the IRS, warning taxpayers “to guard against new tricks by scam artists.”

Following the emergence of new variations of widespread tax scams, the IRS warned taxpayers to remain on high alert and protect themselves against “the ever-evolving array of deceitful tactics scammers use to trick people.”

These schemes — which occur over the phone, in e-mails or through letters with authentic looking letterhead — try to trick taxpayers into providing personal financial information or scare people into making a false tax payment that ends up with the criminal.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has received reports of about 600,000 contacts since October 2013 and is aware of about 4,000 victims who have collectively reported over $20 million in financial losses as a result of tax scams.

“We continue to see these aggressive tax scams across the country,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said. “Scam artists specialize in being deceptive and fooling people. The IRS urges taxpayers to be extra cautious and think twice before answering suspicious phone calls, emails or letters.”

Scammers posing as IRS agents first targeted those they viewed as most vulnerable, such as older Americans, newly arrived immigrants and those whose first language is not English. These criminals have expanded their net and are now targeting virtually anyone.

In a new variation, scammers alter what appears on your telephone caller ID to make it seem like they are with the IRS or another agency such as the Department of Motor Vehicles. They use fake names, titles and badge numbers. They use online resources to get your name, address and other details about your life to make the call sound official.

Brazen scammers will even provide their victims with directions to the nearest bank or business where the victim can obtain a means of payment.

The most common theme with these tricks seems to be fear, said the IRS. Scammers try to scare people into reacting immediately without taking a moment to think through what is happening.

These scam artists often angrily threaten police arrest, deportation, license revocation or other similarly unpleasant things. They may also leave “urgent” callback requests, sometimes through “robo-calls,” via phone or email. The emails will often contain a fake IRS document with a telephone number or email address for the victim’s reply.

The official IRS website is IRS.gov. The IRS urges taxpayers not to be confused or misled by sites claiming to be the IRS but ending in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov. Taxpayers should never provide personal information, financial or otherwise, to suspicious websites or strangers calling out of the blue.

Five things scammers often do that the real IRS would never do:

•Angrily demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill. In the Ramona woman’s case, the caller said several letters had been sent.

•Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

•Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.

•Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.

•Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

If you think you’re the target of an IRS impersonation scam:

•If you do owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you with a payment issue.

•If you know you don’t owe taxes or do not immediately believe that you do, you can report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1-800-366-4484.

•If you’ve been targeted by any scam, be sure to contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their FTC Compliant Assistant at FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your complaint.

For more information on reporting tax scams, go to IRS.gov and type “scam” in the search box.