SeniorLAW Center

Warning: New IRS Telephone Scam Targets Consumers

Scammers posing as IRS agents are calling consumers to demand tax payments that are not owed. Scammers are demanding that taxpayers pay their tax debts promptly through a pre-loaded debt care or wire transfer. They are threatening to arrest, deport, or revoke the driver’s license of a victim who refuses to cooperate. Scammers are using fake names, and they may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security Number. The scammers are also spoofing the IRS toll-free number on the victim’s caller ID, so it appears to the taxpayer that the IRS is calling.

If you receive a suspicious phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and you think you may owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to work out your issue. If you know that you do not owe taxes, call the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484 to report the incident. If you have been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov. Add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your complaint.

For more information, click here.

SeniorLAW Center’s newest program, Property and Inheritance Tax Aid for Elders, provides legal assistance on many tax issues to seniors throughout Pennsylvania. The project was launched with the generous award of an ABA Section of Taxation Public Service Fellowship. For more information about the program, click here.

If you have any questions, please contact the SeniorLAW Center HelpLine at 215-988-1242 or 1-877-727-7529.