Tax season has come gusting into Warren County with a mix of rain and snow. It’s bringing with it an accumulation of tax scams as several local residents have already been targeted.
One McMinnville resident told the Standard he was contacted last week by phone from a person claiming to be from the IRS. His caller ID even showed a 202 area code indicating the call was from Washington, D.C. He said the caller told him the IRS had flagged a problem with his return and would be taking legal action unless immediate payment was made. This is one of the most popular forms of the scam.
The IRS’s fraud division says it has received 736,000 scam complaints since October 2013 – and that’s just the number of people who have taken the time to notify the IRS with an official complaint. These scams have cost taxpayers over $23 million, the IRS reports.
Phone scams first tried to prey on older people, new immigrants to the U.S., and those who speak English as a second language. Now the IRS says crooks try to swindle everyone -- and they’ve successfully ripped off people in all 50 states.
Here are several things which may happen if you’re targeted by an IRS scam.
• The thief makes a call claiming to be an IRS official. They demand a bogus tax bill be paid, often conning 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.
• Callers try to scare their victims. Many phone scams use threats to intimidate a victim into paying. They may even threaten to arrest, deport or revoke the driver license of their victim if they don’t get the money.
• Scams use caller ID spoofing. Scammers often alter caller ID to make it look like the IRS or another agency is calling. They may use the victim’s name, address and other personal information to make the call sound official.
• Cons try new tricks all the time. Some schemes provide an actual IRS address where they tell the victim to mail a receipt for the payment they make. Others use emails that contain a fake IRS document with a phone number or an email address for a reply. These scams often use official IRS letterhead in emails or regular mail they send to their victims. They try these ploys to make the ruse look official.
The IRS says it will not:
• Call you to demand immediate payment. The IRS will not call if you owe taxes without first sending you a bill in the mail.
• Demand you pay taxes and not allow you to question or appeal the amount you owe.
• Require you pay your taxes a certain way. For instance, require 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 you do, hang up immediately. You can call the IRS at 800-366-4484 to question the phone call. The agency can also be reached at 800-829-1040.