The Greenville Police Department has been receiving multiple reports about an IRS Scam.
According to the reports, scammers have been calling and claiming to be the IRS. They demand that payment be made and threaten to arrest, deport or fine the victims if they don’t comply. These scammers are trying to con victims into sending cash through a prepaid debit card or wire transfer.
It appears they have been using numerous phone numbers. Some of these numbers are untraceable and some sound like a call center from a different country. The scammers have been using IRS titles and fake badge numbers to appear legitimate.
The Greenville Police Department would like to share some IRS facts and tips.
The IRS will not:
- Call you to demand immediate payment. The IRS will not call you if you owe taxes without first sending you a bill in the mail.
- Demand that you pay taxes and not allow you to question or appeal the amount you owe.
- Require that you pay your taxes a certain way. For instance, require that you pay with a prepaid debit card.
- Ask for your credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
- Threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest you for not paying.
If you receive a call like this:
- Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.
- If possible, write down the number the scammer is calling from.
After you receive the call, the IRS asks that you do the following:
- Contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to report the call using their IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting web
page. You can also call 800-366-4484.
- Report it to the Federal Trade Commission using their FTC Complaint Assistant. Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" in the notes.