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November 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) -- Residents in the Mt. Helix area and elsewhere in the County have reported receiving phone calls from scammers posing as Internal Revenue Service or IRS representatives. East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery’s household has received several such calls.
The Sheriff’s office warns that these con artists are aggressive and will scare you with a lawsuit or threaten you with an arrest if you don't pay. They may know a lot about you and alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling.
If you receive such a call, hang up immediately.
The IRS will NEVER:
•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 don’t owe taxes, or have no reason to think that you do:
•Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.
•Contact TIGTA to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page. You can also call 800-366-4484.
•Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" in the notes.
If you know you owe, or think you may owe tax:
•Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you.
More information at https://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Urges-Public-to-Stay-Alert-for-Scam-Phone-Calls.
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