Advisory Concerning IRS Phone Scam

January 30, 2019
By Penn Division of Public Safety

Penn Police are currently investigating a number of reports of a resurgence in an IRS Phone Scam. In this scam, the caller purports to be an IRS representative and tells the victim that they owe a fine for illegal international money transfers. The caller then tells the victim to buy gift cards (Google Play, iTunes, Visa, etc.) and give the caller the card numbers and pins.

 

Should you receive a call along these lines, please take the following steps:

• Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.

• Call Penn Police at 215-573-3333.

• Contact TIGTA to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page or call 800-366-4484. Website: https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml

• Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes. Website: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

• If you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS directly at 800-829-1040.

 

Additionally, know that the IRS will never:

• Call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.

• Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

• Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.

• Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer.

• Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

 

Please reach out to Penn Police at 215-573-3333 should you have any additional questions or if you yourself were a victim of this scam.