David Fights . Lead Investigator at Scamcallfighters
There is absolutely no need to call back since the caller has nothing to do with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). The IRS will never call anyone “out of the blue” and ask to pay. IRS will send letter by mail. Tax payers will get enough time to respond and dispute claims.
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, ask his name, a call back number (but should not call back) and employee badge number all of which he is bound to provide. (Crooks would provide fake badge numbers)
If he provides details, contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to determine if the caller was indeed the one he claims to be and whether IRS has a legitimate need to contact you.
According to the IRS website:
Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.
Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security Number.
Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it’s the IRS calling.
Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls.
Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.
After threatening victims with jail time or driver’s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim.
For More Information : www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Warns-of-Pervasive-Telephone-Scam
Warning issued by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration:
www.treasury.gov/tigta/press/press_tigta-2014-03.htm
If you owe Federal taxes, or think you might owe taxes, hang up and call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you with your payment questions.
If you don’t owe taxes, call and report the incident to TIGTA (Treasury Inspector General for Taxpayer Administration) at 800-366-4484.
You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/. Add “IRS Telephone Scam" to the comments in your complaint.
You should forward scam e-mails related to tax / IRS to phishing@irs.gov.
