Did you know that con artists posing as Internal Revenue Service representatives frequently try to scam people out of their money? While this is a long-standing problem, the IRS has issued a new warning against thieves who may contact people on the phone or via email or a letter and try to trick them into divulging personal financial information, such as their Social Security or bank account numbers, or even turning over some of their hard-earned cash. And the scams can be tough to spot. Potential victims may see a fake caller ID that identifies the call as coming from the IRS or receive mail or email that appears to have the IRS letterhead. The scammers typically try to intimidate victims into acting quickly—by, say, sending a payment to what they claim is an IRS address—by threatening arrest or some other consequence.
If you receive an IRS communication that seems suspicious or doesn’t make sense, please call our office. Whether you are facing a legitimate tax issue or a scam, we can help you sort through the details and determine how to respond. You can report incidents to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484. Remember, too, that the IRS website is www.irs.gov, so be on alert if you’re directed to another similar site that ends in .com or .net instead of .gov.