Scams using the Internal Revenue Service as a lure are continuing to target Garden State residents and they take many different forms, according to the agency.
The most common scams are phone calls and emails from thieves who pretend to be from the IRS. They use the IRS name, logo or a fake website to try to steal people’s money and possibly their identity, according to a press release.
According to the IRS, people should be wary if they get an out-of-the-blue phone call or automated message from someone who claims to be from the IRS. Sometimes that individual says a person owes money and must pay right away. Other times the individual says a person is owed a refund and asks for bank account information over the phone.
The IRS will not:
- 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 tax payment and not allow you to question or appeal the amount you owe
- Require that you pay your taxes a certain way. For example, demand that you pay with a prepaid debit card
- Ask for your credit or debit card numbers over the phone
- Threaten to bring in local police or other agencies to arrest you without paying
- Threaten you with a lawsuit.
If an individual does not owe taxes or has no reason to think he does:
- Contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Use TIGTA’s IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting web page to report the incident
- You should also report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the FTC Complaint Assistant on FTC.gov. Add the phrase “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your report.
If you think you may owe taxes, ask for a call back number and an employee badge number; or call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS employees can provide assistance.
In most cases, an IRS phishing scam is an unsolicited bogus email that claims to come from the IRS. The scammers often use fake refunds, phony tax bills or threats of an audit, according to the IRS. The scammers’ goal is to lure victims to give up their personal and financial information. If the scammers get what they are after, they use it to steal a victim’s money and their identity.
If an individual receives a “phishing” email, the IRS offers this advice:
- Do not reply to the message
- Do not give out personal or financial information
- Forward the email to phishing@irs.gov and then delete it
- Do not open any attachments or click on any links. They may have malicious code that will infect a computer.
More information on how to report phishing or phone scams is available at IRS.gov
As of April 1, TIGTA has become aware of 319 victims from New Jersey who have paid out $1.47 million as part of this scam. New Jersey is fifth on the list of all states as to the amount of money paid out in the scam. Nationwide, as of April 1, TIGTA is aware of more than 5,770 victims who have paid out more than $31 million as a part of this scam, according to information provided by the IRS.
