The IRS recently released a public service announcement about a recent trend in phone-call scammers claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service. These phone-calls may demand money to pay taxes and will try to coerce you into giving them your bank account information in order to receive your refund.
Under no circumstances should you reveal any personal information during these phone-calls.
The IRS is never going to call you out of the blue and ask for your bank account information. It simply isn’t done, there is no IRS payment telephone number. This is for your protection.
In a recent e-mail sent out by the IRS, they list 5 Easy Ways to Spot a Scam Phone Call:
- Call you about taxes you owe without first mailing you an official notice.
- Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the chance to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
- Require you to use a certain payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
- Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
- Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement to have you arrested for not paying.
These telephone scams are a perennial problem nowadays, and although there is an IRS complaints hotline, many people find it beneficial to also contact a tax professional. If you suspect yourself to be the recipient of the latest phone scam, contact us at Forsythe Tax & Accounting Service at (717) 334-2775 and let us help protect you and guide you through what to do next.
