IRS SCAM

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People continue getting scammed through email, text messages or phone calls. People become unsure whether it is a scam or not.

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The IRS always contacts taxpayers initially by U.S. mail to discuss your taxes or personal information, never by email or by phone, so this is another clue that you’re being scammed.

The IRS will never initiate contact through emails, text messages, phone, or social media.

The IRS will never contact you to arrange a payment or installment plan if you owe. If you get a call, it is a scam. It is the tax payer’s responsibility to contact the IRS to arrange payment.

The IRS may potentially make contact through a phone call after first making contact through mail. The IRS will never ask for immediate payment or payment arrangements through a phone call.

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The TIGTA provides the following tips for how to deal with this type of telephone scam:

If you owe federal taxes or you think you might owe taxes, hang up and call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you with your payment questions. Do not give the caller any personal information.

If you’re sure you don’t owe taxes, call and report the incident to TIGTA at 800-366-4484.

You can also visit the TIGTA website and report the incident using the “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” option.

You can file a complaint on the Federal Trade Commission’s website. Add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments in your complaint.

Exercise vigilance. Contact the IRS, or ask your tax professional to contact the IRS for you, but do not deal with someone calling you out of the blue demanding money.

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Source:

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tax-scams-how-to-report-them

https://www.thebalance.com/what-to-do-if-irs-calls-3973963

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/how-to-know-its-really-the-irs-calling-or-knocking-on-your-door-audits