IRS Calls

[jimbo]

I received 7 calls during the last 8 days from "the IRS" telling me that they have a filed a lawsuit against me. Getting these calls on my landline and cell phone. I keep blocking the calls but then they come as "unknown caller".
Anyone else getting these TRS calls?

 

[majormadmax]

Scams.

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Ph...-List-of-Tax-Scams-for-the-2016-Filing-Season

Phone Scams Continue to be a Serious Threat, Remain on IRS “Dirty Dozen” List of Tax Scams for the 2016 Filing Season

IR-2016-14, Feb. 2, 2016

WASHINGTON — Aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remain a major threat to taxpayers, headlining the annual "Dirty Dozen" list of tax scams for the 2016 filing season, the Internal Revenue Service announced today.

The IRS has seen a surge of these phone scams as scam artists threaten police arrest, deportation, license revocation and other things. The IRS reminds taxpayers to guard against all sorts of con games that arise during any filing season.

"Taxpayers across the nation face a deluge of these aggressive phone scams. Don't be fooled by callers pretending to be from the IRS in an attempt to steal your money," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “We continue to say if you are surprised to be hearing from us, then you're not hearing from us.”

"There are many variations. The caller may threaten you with arrest or court action to trick you into making a payment,” Koskinen added. “Some schemes may say you're entitled to a huge refund. These all add up to trouble. Some simple tips can help protect you."

The Dirty Dozen is compiled annually by the IRS and lists a variety of common scams taxpayers may encounter any time during the year. Many of these con games peak during filing season as people prepare their tax returns or hire someone to do so.

This January, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) announced they have received reports of roughly 896,000 contacts since October 2013 and have become aware of over 5,000 victims who have collectively paid over $26.5 million as a result of the scam.

"The IRS continues working to warn taxpayers about phone scams and other schemes," Koskinen said. "We especially want to thank the law-enforcement community, tax professionals, consumer advocates, the states, other government agencies and particularly the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for helping us in this battle against these persistent phone scams."

Protect Yourself

Scammers make unsolicited calls claiming to be IRS officials. They demand that the victim pay a bogus tax bill. They con the victim into sending cash, usually through a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. They may also leave “urgent” callback requests through phone “robo-calls,” or via a phishing email.

Many phone scams use threats to intimidate and bully a victim into paying. They may even threaten to arrest, deport or revoke the license of their victim if they don’t get the money.

Scammers often alter caller ID numbers to make it look like the IRS or another agency is calling. The callers use IRS titles and fake badge numbers to appear legitimate. They may use the victim’s name, address and other personal information to make the call sound official.

Here are five things the scammers often do but the IRS will not do. Any one of these five things is a tell-tale sign of a scam.

The IRS will never:

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

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.

Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

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

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, here’s what you should do:

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.

Stay alert to scams that use the IRS as a lure. Tax scams can happen any time of year, not just at tax time. For more, visit “Tax Scams and Consumer Alerts” on IRS.gov.

Each and every taxpayer has a set of fundamental rights they should be aware of when dealing with the IRS. These are your Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Explore your rights and our obligations to protect them on IRS.gov.

 

[ed308]

Play along with them. Could be fun for an hour.

 

[benenglish]

Play along with them. Could be fun for an hour.

If you choose to do that, please give out a Social Security Number beginning with 9. If you know how SSNs are assigned, you'll know why. If you make up a number that starts with a lower digit, you could be accidentally giving a number that belongs to a real person. (Not that 9-series numbers don't belong to real people but if you're into this, you already know what I mean.)

 

[Bozz10mm]

Yeah, I got one of those calls the other day. It was a very threatening robo call. Left a message on voice mail. Woman claimed to be from the US Treasury. The call was from a New York number 347-584-8747 originating in the Bronx. More likely it was a spoofed number. She said that if I ignored the call "all I can do is wish you good luck, because then it unfolds on you."

Find more info here: http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-347-584-8747

 

[orbitup]

If you choose to do that, please give out a Social Security Number beginning with 9. If you know how SSNs are assigned, you'll know why. If you make up a number that starts with a lower digit, you could be accidentally giving a number that belongs to a real person. (Not that 9-series numbers don't belong to real people but if you're into this, you already know what I mean.)

Heh.

I had to look that up.

Sent from.... RIGHT BEHIND YOU!

 

[dsgrey]

IRS scam calls about once a week and yesterday was the last time. I'm getting lonely though. I haven't heard from Carmen or Rachel with Cardholder Services in a few weeks. I still enjoy the calls from Microsoft where my computer has contacted them about a virus and English is a 2nd language for those guys. Telling them I own a Mac, asking how my computer contacted them or stating I own multiple computers so which IP address usually confuses them and they hang up. I keep hoping one of them will attempt to answer so we can get into more detailed questions.

 

[majormadmax]

Give 'em a SSN that begins with 666 (i.e. 666-XX-XXXX)...

 

[sidebite252]

Yep I got them. They called both my numbers. What's sad is the number of people who still don't realize the IRS doesn't call you. I've also gotten the calls from Mugibur telling me he works for Microsoft/Macintosh and wants to log into my computer to fix it. They are relentless. No telling how many millions they scam folks out of.

 

[benenglish]

What's sad is the number of people who still don't realize the IRS doesn't call you

No. The IRS does call about delinquent taxes. However, there are many things that happen first, including several letters. If you get a call about taxes you didn't know you owe, either you've moved around a bunch and none of the letters ever reached you ( which is next to impossible) or it's a scam.

If you know you owe taxes, though, you may very well get a phone call.

 

[majormadmax]

No. The IRS does call about delinquent taxes. However, there are many things that happen first, including several letters. If you get a call about taxes you didn't know you owe, either you've moved around a bunch and none of the letters ever reached you ( which is next to impossible) or it's a scam.

If you know you owe taxes, though, you may very well get a phone call.

Exactly, read the excerpt I posted (emphasis mine)...

The IRS will never:

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

Cheers! M2

 

[sidebite252]

Robo call? I don't think so. It's about how obvious this particular scam is at least to most of the public.

 

[Army 1911]

I got one of those calls saying the IRS was about to sue me. I just said, "You know I work for the IRS, don't you?" Amazing how quick they hung up.

 

[benenglish]

I got one of those calls saying the IRS was about to sue me.

This is the one that gets me. If scammers wanna scam, they could at least get the terminology right. IRS-initiated suits are extremely rare and they only happen after you've been dealing with them for multiple years. The scammers don't even understand their own scam.

 

[TAZ]

If it comes in the mail good chance it's the IRS. If it's people carrying guns probably the Treasury dept. If your house is on fire most likely Treasury.

If it's a robo call. Most likely not Treasury dept.

Get them every year round tax time. Oddly they never leave a message.

 

[benenglish]

If it comes in the mail good chance it's the IRS.

I agree, mostly, but that's not 100% the case. I once received a scam snail mail that tried to mimic an IRS letter. The tip-offs were many, though. The envelope was wrong. The form number on the letter was wrong. There were misspellings. The number it asked me to call was not an IRS number. Still, I suppose some people got scared, called that wrong number, and got ripped off.

If it's people carrying guns probably the Treasury dept.

IRS is part of Treasury and some of their people do carry guns.