During the last 24 hours, many New Castle residents reported getting calls from an individual identifying himself/herself as an agent of the IRS and that the resident owed back taxes. The caller states that if the taxes are not paid immediately by phone or wire, they or their spouse will be arrested within the next few hours.
Here are five things the scammers often do, but the IRS will not do. Any one of these five things is a telltale sign of a scam. The IRS will never:
- Call you about taxes you owe without first mailing you an official notice.
- Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount it says 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.
If you receive one of these calls, hang up the phone and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484 or at www.tigta.gov. For further information on this scam, visit www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts.
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