AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine attorney general’s office Monday issued a warning about a scam involving IRS imposters.
Attorney General Janet Mills described how it worked in a press release.
“Scammers posing as IRS officials call and say you owe taxes,” she said. “They threaten to arrest you, or deport you, or revoke your license, or even shut down your business if you don’t pay right away. They may know your Social Security number — or at least the last four digits of it — making you think it really is the IRS calling. They also can rig caller ID to make it look like the call is coming from Washington, DC.
“You are then instructed to put the money on a prepaid debit card and tell them the number — something no government agency would ask you to do,” she continued. “Once you do it, you find out it was a scam, and the money is gone.”
The scam is similar to one Mills warned residents about last year, but calls have increased this month, according to Timothy Feeley, spokesman for the attorney general’s office. Fifteen complaints about the scam were reported on Friday alone to the consumer protection division, he said. In 2014, 110 were received.
“If you receive one of these calls, do not answer any of their questions,” Mills advised. “Hang up the phone immediately.”
Mainers who owe federal taxes should call the IRS at 800-829-1040 or go to irs.gov to get answers to questions about payments, the press release said. The IRS doesn’t ask people to pay with prepaid debit cards or wire transfers, and doesn’t ask for credit card numbers over the phone. When the IRS contacts people about unpaid taxes, they usually do it by mail, not by phone.
“Last year we also heard about a number of Mainers who when they filed with the IRS, discovered someone had fraudulently claimed their tax return already,” Mills said. “People should file early, always take steps to protect their private information and review their credit report yearly to see if there has been any unusual activity.”
For more information, contact the Consumer Protection Division of the Maine Attorney General’s Office at 1(800) 436-2131 orconsumer.mediation@maine.gov .
To report IRS imposter scams to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) online or at800-366-4484, and to the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint.