IRS Phony Phone Call Scam

”Am I going to jail ? Do I need a lawyer?”. This is a question I got from a terrified client who got a disturbing call from the IRS. A person claiming to work for the treasury department threatened my client with jail time unless he submitted several thousands of dollars in back taxes owed. The supposed IRS agent provided a badge number and seemed to be well informed about my client.  Also, the IRS agent demanded payment by prepaid debit card or wire transfer.  After hearing all this, I was 500% sure that was absolutely a phony phone call from a criminal impersonating the IRS.

If you really do owe taxes, the IRS will always send you a letter prior to telephoning you. Furthermore, before the IRS declares that you owe taxes, you will be able to contest the taxes due and have a right to appeal, and won’t be told to pay taxes immediately. Also, the IRS never tries to strong arm taxpayers into paying with threats of arrest, deportation, or other bogus consequences.

Also, be wary of the old ”claim your refund check” scam where the scammer tells you that he or she needs your social security number so he can send your refund check out.

If you believe you’ve been called by a criminal claiming to be from the IRS, don’t hesitate to call the Treasury Department at 1-800-366-4484. Also, if you really do owe taxes, wait for a letter in the mail or call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to settle the issue.