IRS impersonators are making their rounds throughout our service area. BBB is receiving numerous calls from consumers who are inquiring about the legitimacy of a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS. The impersonator states that the IRS is pursuing a lawsuit against the consumer for "back taxes," and they are demanding payment via prepaid money card or a wire transfer.
Those who don`t answer their phone are left with a threatening message to call them back at 202-864-1213. Scammers often target the elderly or immigrant population. Some of the threats include jail time, deportation or suspension of the victim`s business or driver`s license.
BBB offers the following tips to protect you from the IRS scam and others like it:
- Don`t wire money to people you don`t know. The IRS will never ask for payment over the phone. Furthermore, they will never ask for payments by wire transfer or prepaid debit card.
- Just hang up. Don`t engage in conversation with a scammer. A scam artist is often cunning. They may extract information from you the longer you engage in conversation with them.
- Never give out your personal information. Caller ID spoofing makes it very easy for callers to pretend to be someone else. You should never give anyone your credit card, social security number or bank account information if they are soliciting you.
- Call the IRS/ or company directly. If you owe taxes or think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. An IRS employee will help you with payment issues. Verify legitimate phone numbers on company websites or in the phonebook.
- Contact the BBB. Check out the latest scams across the country by visiting our BBB Scam Source at http://www.bbb.org/iowa/get-
consumer-help/scam-source/
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