One morning last week when I
answered the phone, a woman at the other end of the line told me she was with
the IRS and that I was being investigated. My immediate reaction was panic. But
as the caller started telling me why I supposedly was in trouble, I quickly
realized that scammers -- not the IRS -- were targeting me.
Before I recount the
conversation, let me emphasize that the best course of action to take when a
scammer calls is to hang up. Period. I stayed on the line out of professional
curiosity. I hoped to gain more insight into the nature of the con that I could
share with Kiplinger readers -- and I did. Here's how I recognized the scam.
The woman on the phone told me
that a variety of charges were being filed against me for failing to pay taxes and
attempting to defraud the IRS. She asked if I had a criminal attorney to
represent me. "No," I answered. Then she said I owed $4,000. None of
what she was saying added up, but it was easy to see how her accusations and
efforts at intimidation could rattle many an unsuspecting taxpayer.
I was fortunate because I knew
that what the woman was saying sounded familiar to a scam I had written about
in November 2013, IRS Warns of a New Phone Scam. The
IRS had issued a warning that scammers were calling people, telling them that
they owed money and threatening that they would be arrested if they didn't pay.
To resolve the issue, victims typically were being told to pay the money owed
to the IRS through a pre-loaded debit card or a wire transfer. But the scammer
didn't get that far with me.
From past run-of-the-mill
dealings with the IRS and articles I've written for Kiplinger, I knew that the
IRS initiates contact with taxpayers by mail, not by phone. And I knew that if
I truly were being audited, the process would have begun with a letter and that
I would've been asked to supply the IRS with records. I certainly wouldn't be
charged with anything before actually having an opportunity to make a case for
any questionable items on a tax return.
So I asked the woman if the
IRS had attempted to contact me by mail. She said it had. I followed up by
asking to what address letters had been sent. She rattled off my former
address. When I told her that wasn't my current address and that I had received
other correspondence recently from the IRS (tax forms, not audit notifications)
at my current address, she hung up.
I felt victorious but realized
how easily someone without my knowledge of tax scams could have been duped. Tax
fraud often tops the Federal Trade Commission's list of biggest
identity-theft complaints. And the IRS sees countless scams meant to trick
taxpayers into revealing personal information.
That's why it's important to
be aware of tell-tale signs of IRS-related scams:
Callers claiming to be IRS agents. As I mentioned above, the IRS
initiates contact with taxpayers by mail, not by phone. If you get a call from
someone claiming to be with the IRS, don't reveal any personal information or
credit-card information because the IRS doesn't ask for payments over the
phone. Instead, hang up and call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to see if an agent
has a legitimate need to contact you.
Unsolicited e-mails from the IRS. Not only will the IRS not
initiate contact with taxpayers by phone, but also it won't use e-mail, text
messages or social media. So do not reply to unsolicited e-mails or messages
supposedly from the IRS, open any attachments (which could contain viruses) or
click on any links (which could take you to a fraudulent Web site). Forward all
suspect e-mails to phishing@irs.gov.
By Cameron Huddleston
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