Scammers are staying busy in Corcoran once again. This time, it’s a phone scam with the caller identifying himself or herself as a representative of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Scammers are staying busy in Corcoran once again. This time, it’s a phone scam with the caller identifying himself or herself as a representative of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
According to the local police department, the caller announces that the IRS either has a warrant for the arrest of the person receiving the call, or the IRS has a lawsuit against the victim. The calls attempt to get the receiver to pay a specific amount of money and threaten arrest if the payment is not made.
First thing to know, noted the police department, is that the IRS does not initiate any such calls.
Other tips include:
–Do not call back or reply to a text message or e-mail;
–If you are caught unaware and answer the phone, hang up;
–If for some reason you have stayed on the phone with them long enough for them to threaten to call the police and have you arrested, feel free to say, “Please, do send the police.”
Residents are asked to report calls claiming to be from the IRS to the Treasury Department Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484, This is an impersonation scam. The IRS states on its website that it never asks for credit card or debit card information over the phone, never insists that taxpayers use a specific method of payment for tax obligations and never requests immediate payment over the phone—and will not take enforcement action immediately following a phone conversation.
One local victim who contacted the police traced their threat to a cell phone in Spokane, Washington. The victim’s call came in during the lunch hour and was recorded on an answering machine.
