Press release:
The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office is always receiving reports of scams that are attempted via the phone, mail or online. Scams can range from “you won the lottery” (that you didn’t even enter) to a call from someone claiming to be a relative who is in trouble with the law and needs bail (a favorite for elderly grandparents).
The common denominator for all of these scams is an eventual attempt to get the victim to send/wire money to the caller. If it’s an ID theft scam, the goal is to obtain personal information from you such as your date of birth, address, Social Security number, etc. Another commonality is the pressure to act now or loose the opportunity. This pressure can come in the form of a threat.
Today alone, we received no less than five reports of an IRS scam that is being perpetrated via phone. In this scam, the caller identifies him or herself as an IRS agent, tells the victim they owe the IRS a sum of unpaid taxes and threatens to have him/her arrested immediately if cash is not withdrawn from the bank and wired to an address the caller gives. The caller doesn’t allow any time for the victim to check the validity of the call and actually continues to verbally threaten the victim.
Today, a potential victim came to the Sheriff’s Office to report such a scam attempt. The victim had been convinced that the caller was with the IRS and that she was going to be arrested if she didn’t immediately comply. She went to her bank, withdrew over $5,000 and drove to a local retail store (as directed) where she was to wire out the money. Fortunately, she called a family member at the last minute, despite the threats not to delay, and was diverted to the Sheriff’s Office before the money was gone forever.
The IRS never attempts to collect legitimate debt over the phone or Internet. They never attempt to persuade you not to confirm the legitimacy of such a contact. While there may be a deadline involved, it is never so short as not to afford you time to check out the authenticity of the notification with the IRS using publicly listed contact numbers.
If you have doubt, if you are confused, if you feel threatened, call a trusted family member and/or the Sheriff’s Office. IRS scam attempts can be reported directly to the Treasury Inspector General for Taxation Administration at 1-800-366-4484 or via their Web site: www.tigta.gov
