Five things scammers do
Here are five things the scammers often do but the IRS will not do. Any one of these five things is a tell-tale sign of a scam.The IRS will never:› Call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.› 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.› Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.Source: The IRS
If a scammer calls:
If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, here’s what you should do:If you don’t owe taxes, or have no reason to think that you do:Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.Contact TIGTA to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page. You can also call 800-366-4484.— Source: The IRS
Owe taxes?
If you know you owe, or think you may owe tax:Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you.Source: The IRS
Larry DeVore knew right away that scammers were behind two "robocalls" he got last week warning him he faced a lawsuit and arrest by the Internal Revenue Service.
"There is a lawsuit filed against you by the Internal Revenue Service," said one of the calls that DeVore saved on his answering machine. "There is a non-bailable arrest warrant issued under your name."
"Scams are easy to pick up," said DeVore, who lives on Flat Top Mountain, a rural community uphill of Soddy-Daisy. "They warn about scams on the news and stuff - I'm just surprised it happened here."
"They target older people," added DeVore, who's caretaker for an elderly man with dementia.
DeVore isn't alone in getting a scam IRS phone call.
Other Chattanooga-area residents have reported getting them as the April 18 tax filing deadline nears, and it's a nationwide problem.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) says it has received reports of roughly 896,000 scam IRS calls since October 2013 with more than 5,000 victims who have collectively paid more than $26.5 million.
"Taxpayers across the nation face a deluge of these aggressive phone scams," IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a statement. "Don't be fooled by callers pretending to be from the IRS in an attempt to steal your money. We continue to say if you are surprised to be hearing from us, then you're not hearing from us."
Scams come in many variations, the IRS says, including automated calls that threaten you with arrest or court action to trick people into making a payment. Other schemes tell people they are entitled to a huge refund.
The two robocalls that DeVore received included callback numbers. DeVore got through to one number with a 504 area code, which covers the New Orleans area, but it a man's personal phone number.
"He goes, I'm going to have to change my number I've already got nine calls in an hour," DeVore said.
DeVore thinks the scammers only would have answered if he had picked up the calls as they came in.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or twitter.com/meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.