What are IRS Scam Calls?
The Internal Revenue Service, commonly known as the IRS, is an agency run by the United States government that is charged with enforcing tax laws and collecting taxes. President Abraham Lincoln established the agency in 1862 to function as a subdivision of the American Department of Treasury. Some of the the functions of the IRS include:
- Collection of income taxes from citizens
- Collection of employment taxes
- Handling corporate taxes
- Handling gift taxes
- Handling excise taxes
- Handling estate taxes
- Handling taxes on dividends and mutual funds
The IRS has always been a massive target to scammers seeking to exploit any loophole available for quick money. Although the IRS has taken certain precautions to prevent citizens from getting scammed, IRS scam calls are still happening.
Last year, the IRS reported that it gathered about 3.5 trillion dollars and handled over 240 million tax returns and other forms. The agency also issued over 736 billion dollars in tax refunds that year; that includes 268 billion dollars in Economic Impact Payments. No wonder IRS scams have made it on the list of top five scam trends in 2020.
The IRS has created several mediums over the years to keep American citizens from falling victims to phone scams. If you get a call and suspect the caller for any reason, you should end the call immediately. Also, individuals can help the fight by reporting any suspicious caller or fraud related to the IRS or other concerned authorities.
What are IRS Scam Calls?
IRS scam calls involve scammers tricking citizens into revealing their taxpayer details and even sending money. Scammers will impersonate the IRS in an attempt to steal identities and extort money from unsuspecting victims. The scammers call victims' phones, demanding payments like unpaid taxes, penalties, and other fees. The calls are usually threatening, with the scammer attempting to coerce the victim into paying up.
The majority of these calls occur at night and on weekends. Some scammers will use robocalls to contact thousands of people, hoping that a good percentage will respond.
These fraudsters may initially appear friendly and harmless. But do not be deceived, this is only to gain the confidence of victims before they attack. Fraudsters use several techniques to trick people into thinking that they are from the government. And many of these phone scams have changed over time. The following are some common IRS phone scams to look out for:
Back Taxes Scams
In this scam, the scammer tells the target that they owe taxes to the IRS and will be arrested or faced with charges if they do not pay up. Victims are then asked to pay the money to resolve their so-called case. In this scam, fraudsters are referring to Back Taxes, not the current year's tax returns.
Victims are generally asked to make payments through transfer methods that are hard to trace. Such as a prepaid card or a wire transfer. The fraudsters also demand that the payments be made right away.
Rebate Phone Call Scam
The rebate phone scams generally involve a senior getting a call concerning a significant tax rebate. An online criminal will claim to be from the IRS, stating the recipient has been chosen for a tax rebate. In this scam, the victim is instructed to provide bank account information to transfer their funds into their account. If you get such calls, do not give out any information. If you do, you will probably lose funds as a result.
Ghost Tax Return Preparer Scam
U.S citizens are expected to consistently fill the tax return forms to know if they owe the government or the government that owes. Tax Return Preparer Scam involves unauthorized persons who are trying to help an individual prepare the papers. Individuals are warned to refrain from dealing with unethical tax return preparers, referred to as ghost preparers. One way to know these ghost preparers is, such persons never sign the tax returns prepared by them.
Failure to do so is one major red flag: such a preparer could very well be a fraudster. These ghost tax return preparers may promise you a big refund and charge fees according to the size of the refund.
Debt Collector Contact Scam
At times the IRS involves tax collection agencies when trying to collect overdue taxes. Scammers take advantage of this situation to defraud taxpayers by calling them and claiming to be calling on behalf of the IRS. One thing you should know is, before the collector agency contacts you concerning debt, the IRS will first send Publication 4518 and Notice CP40.
Also, there are only 4 agencies that collect debt for the IRS: namely, Pioneer, Performant, Conserve, and CBE. For further information on recognizing an authorized private debt collector agency, you may visit the IRS private debt collector page. Once an individual discovers that the caller claiming to be a private collector for the IRS is fake, such a person should end the call immediately and report the scammer.
Paper Check IRS Scam
The paper check IRS is when a stranger claiming to be an IRS employer calls and says that the agency sent a check. The scammer then informs the target that the so-called check has not been cashed because they need to verify the individual's bank account number. Citizens should never give out their bank account details to strangers through the telephone because it is often a scam call. The IRS can only ask for a person's bank account number if they choose to include the IRS in the tax return.
What Do Scammers Want from IRS Customers?
The primary reasons for fraudulent schemes are money and the confidential information of taxpayers. The personal information usually demanded by scammers include Social Security Numbers, account numbers, credit card details, usernames, and passwords to online accounts.
Once a scammer has the banking details of a victim, the criminal will steal from that person. In other situations, these criminals may use confidential information from citizens to request Economic Impact payments or other government benefits. This was a common occurrence during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Taxpayers are advised to refrain from entertaining any conversation with strangers on social media through calls or text messages to avoid falling victims to fraudsters.
How to Report Scams to the IRS
You can report a phone scam to the IRS through different methods. The following are some of these methods:
Call the IRS Official numbers
The IRS number to report phone scams to is (800) 829-1040. Note that callers are encouraged to use this number to report all possible cases of fraud and scam. Concerned persons should note that this line is primarily for people who owe taxes. Concerned citizens can also call that number to verify what they owe in federal taxes and the penalties attached.
Suppose you have a case to report but do not owe taxes. In that case, you should call the Treasury Inspector General (Tax Administration) on (800) 366-4484.
Report Fraud to IRS
Citizens who have a scam case to report can contact the IRS through its official IRS email contact address. Individuals can forward emails received from scammers to the agency. This helps to track, receive, and shut down scams. For information on how to send emails to the IRS, visit the how-to page. However, interested persons should note that they may not get a personal reply due to the volume of daily reports.
Persons who receive scam robocalls from strangers pitching tax scams may send the callback number and caller ID to the agency with the header IRS PHONE SCAMS.
Visit the official Treasury Inspector General webpage.
Concerned parties can also report fraud cases, especially coronavirus or IRS impersonation-related cases, through the Treasury Inspector General website. Once on that page, the person will be required to fill the form with relevant information. Also, interested parties can report to the department on the misuse of the IRS forms, logos, name, or any agency property.
How to Report IRS Phone Scams to Law Enforcement
Should a U.S citizen fall victim to a fraudster, such a person is advised to report the case to the appropriate law enforcement agency as soon as possible. Whether the individual got scammed or not, that person can always report all fraud cases to the applicable Attorney General. These cases may include illegal robocalls, phishing scams, and identity theft.
Also, concerned persons may report IRS phone scams to the nearest local law enforcement authority. That way, the police can gather resources that can help to arrest fraudsters.
Citizens can report a scam case to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). You can do this through the FTC report fraud webpage. If the individual was not scammed, that person could still help the FTC by providing necessary details to the agency. This is done via the FTC complaint assistant page.
Reporting details such as the phone number of the scammer (fake or real), the callback line, or the email address used can be very helpful. By using reverse phone search apps, the police might be able to pinpoint the location of the criminal or the true identity. Every week, the FTC releases all contact details or phone numbers gathered from scam reports. With that information, partners of the FTC and phone companies that offer call-blocking and call-labeling services can help bring criminals to justice.
You should also know that through scam reports submitted to the FTC, the authorities can detect calling patterns and trends, which are helpful to locating fraudsters.
How to Protect Against IRS Phone Scams
For U.S residents to protect themselves against scams, it is pertinent to get familiar with the methods of operation and signs of a fraudster. Note that caller IDs alone are not capable of efficiently authenticating a caller. This is due to the advanced spoofing tools on the web today with which scammers are very familiar. This tool is key to their operation because they know people would believe more quickly when their calls appear to be from respectable companies.
Secondly, understand that it is always better to type out the IRS website. Do not attempt to visit the official IRS website through a link received from an email. This is because a link from an email might lead you to a fake website.
Any caller using high-pressure tactics, making the caller feel desperate to make a payment, is definitely a fraudster. The criminals would instead their victims act before they think.
Whenever a caller instills a sense of urgency in you concerning payment of taxes or any details, end such a call immediately. There are several layers to the methods used by the scammers, but these are the key things to watch out for. Below are specific steps to take when you get a call from a fraudster:
Hang up the call
Hang up the call instantly if you notice any of the signs discussed above or you have a reason to distrust the caller. Do not give any sensitive details out.
Refrain from opening strange messages
Whenever an individual gets a strange text or email, that person should not open the message, much less click the links. Simply forward such emails to the IRS official email address.
Check the website bar or the email address
Ensure that the web page you are about to visit is secure. This can be done by checking the address bar. An official website should contain a security lock icon before the URL and read HTTPS://. It is critical to do this, especially before you enter any confidential information on the site. The email address of the IRS must end with DOT GOV. If it does not, then it is from a scammer.
Switch to another mobile carrier
It is better to change the mobile carrier at times as some of these scammers can be relentless and diabolic. If they have the number, they can become a constant caller on your phone even after entering the number on the National Do Not Disturb Registry.
Try call blocking
Call-blocking is another defense against IRS phone scams. However, the call-blocking technology that works for a person might not work for another taxpayer. The majority of it depends on the device since the technology differs from a cell phone, a traditional landline, to a home phone (VoIP).
Try reverse phone lookups
A reverse phone lookup app helps individuals discover the exact location of any call received on the phone. These apps help reveal caller location, contact information, time zone, relatives of the caller, and more.
What to Do if You Fall for an IRS Phone Scam
Should a taxpayer fall victim to an IRS phone scam, there is still a chance that such a person might not lose out on the money or information given. However, such persons will have to act fast.
Individuals that lose money to scammers and make payments through Western Union have the opportunity to file a claim that could help them recover the funds. Further details on how to file the claim are available on the Federal Trade Commission's website.
If you paid a fraudster through a credit or debit card, it might be possible to block the transaction before its completion. The victim should reach out to the appropriate card company or bank that issued the card. Then tell the company about the situation and request a chargeback. You may be able to get the charges reversed.
When the individual discloses information concerning a banking account to the scammer, they should change the password immediately. If there are other online accounts with a similar password, it is advisable to make the changes to all those accounts.
Another information that online criminals seek from targets is the Social Security number (SSN). If a scammer manages to get this vital information, you should visit FTC's Identity Theft page to learn how to monitor a credit report.
The Bottom-line
In conclusion, It is pertinent that all U.S taxpayers empower themselves with information on how scammers operate. Over the years, the IRS, in partnership with law enforcement agencies, has created resources to help prevent IRS phone scams. This phenomenon can only end when citizens keep up to date with information and tools developed by government and private agencies.
