November 13, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 9 IRS warns of sophisticated telephone scam The Internal Revenue Service is warning consumers about a sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, throughout the country. Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation, or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting. “This scam has hit taxpayers in nearly every state in the country. We want to educate taxpayers so they can help protect themselves. Rest assured, we do not and will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone, nor request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer,” said IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel. “If someone unex- pectedly calls claiming to be from the IRS and threatens police arrest, deportation, or license revocation if you don’t pay immediately, that is a sign that it really isn’t the IRS calling.” Werfel noted that the first IRS contact with taxpayers on a tax issue is likely to occur via mail. Other characteristics of this scam include: • Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves. • Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security number. • Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it is the IRS calling. • Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS e-mails to some victims to support their bogus calls. • Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site. • After threatening victims with jail time or driver’s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim. Those who receive a phone call from someone claim- ing to be from the IRS are advised to take the following steps: • Those who know they owe taxes, or think they might owe taxes, should call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS employees at that line can help with a payment issue – if there is such an issue. • Those who do not owe taxes, and have no reason to think they owe, should call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484. • Anyone who has been targeted by this scam should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov. Add “IRS Tele- phone Scam” to the comments regarding the complaint. Taxpayers should be aware that there are other unre- lated scams (such as a lottery sweepstakes) and solicita- tions (such as debt relief) that fraudulently claim to be from the IRS. The IRS encourages taxpayers to be vigilant against phone and e-mail scams that use the IRS as a lure. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by e-mail to request personal or financial information. This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text mes- sages and social media. The IRS also does not ask for PINs, passwords, or similar confidential access informa- tion for credit card, bank, or other financial accounts. Recipients should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, forward the e-mail tophishing@irs.gov. More information about how to report phishing scams involving the IRS is available on the genuine IRS web- site, IRS.gov.