This tax season, beware of IRS Imposter Scams
February 18, 2022
Your Â鶹´«Ã½ Security Matters team encourages you to protect yourself from Tax Identity Theft this tax season.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the government agency that collects federal taxes.
Scammers pretend to be IRS officials to get you to send them money.
How the scam works:
You get a call.
- Your caller ID might show it’s the IRS calling.
- The caller might give a badge number and know the last four digits of your Social Security number.
You are told:
- “You owe money.â€
- “You better pay now or you’ll be arrested.â€
- “Put money on a prepaid debit card or wire it to us.â€
If you pay…
- You find out it wasn’t the IRS. It was a scam.
The money is gone.
Warning Signs
How will the IRS first contact you?
- Phone call - No
- Email - No
- Mail - Yes
How will the IRS ask you to pay?
- With a prepaid debit card - No
- With a money transfer - No
- Won’t require a specific type of payment - Yes
Did you get a call?
- Don’t give the caller information such as your financial or other personal information.
- Write down details such as the number and the name of the caller
- Hang up
- Contact the IRS directly - if you think you might owe back taxes, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 or visit irs.gov/balancedue
- Report the call - file a complaint with:
- The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at tigta.gov or 800-366-4484
- The FTC at ftc.gov/complaint or 877-FTC-HELP
- Warn friends and family - tell people you know that these calls are scams.
For more security awareness tips and information, visit the Â鶹´«Ã½ Security Matters web page.