‘Surge’ of scams reported as tax season gets into full swing

It’s tax season and scammers who try to pose as the IRS are ready to pounce. They’re trying to get personal information and sometimes cash by convincing you they’re IRS agents, pursuing a late payment or unfiled taxes.

There has been a “surge” of phone scams, which include aggressive and threatening phone calls by people impersonating IRS agents, according to the Internal Revenue Service. In January, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said there have been more than 5,000 victims who have paid more than $26.5 million since 2013.

David Tucker with the Northwest region of the IRS is eager to get one simple message out: the IRS will always initiate contact with you via U.S. mail. They may follow up with a phone call but only after sending mail first.

He says, furthermore, the IRS will never use aggressive tactics to collect payment.

“We also don’t require that you pay your taxes in a certain way, such as using a pre-paid debit card, and we won’t ask for your credit or debit card information over the phone,” he said. “And we do not threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest you for not paying.”

Tucker says the scammers know they may eventually land on someone who is behind on taxes.

“What they’re trying to do is play upon your fears,” he said. “A lot of people have concern or apprehension about interacting with the IRS when, in fact, the IRS simply wants to work with the taxpayer.”

Tucker says that’s why he hopes people will learn about the scammers and, if they do have any issue at all with the IRS, reach out. You can call 800-829-1040. You can also meet someone in person at a taxpayer assistance center.

And if you’ve been targeted by these IRS impersonators, you can report it at www.ftc.gov.

Tucker says the criminals who try to nab unsuspecting taxpayers do have some convincing, high-tech tricks that can fool even savvy citizens.

“They do use what’s called ID spoofing. That’s where they can electronically look like the phone number that they’re being called by is either an IRS phone number or from a federal phone number,” he said. “And they try to also use IRS titles and fake badge numbers to appear to be legitimate.”

Still, it’s seniors who get swept up into these scams most often, as well as taxpayers who speak English as a second language.

Tucker says phone scams and fake email scams are the most prominent, but there are dozens more. The IRS has highlighted what they call this year’s “dirty dozen” scams, the twelve most prominent schemes to look out for.