Schuette Offers Tips to Michigan Consumers on How to Avoid Tax Scams

If you receive an unanticipated call from a person claiming to be from the IRS, this could be a scam.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge issued a consumer alert to warn Arkansans of this scam and offer tips to recognize it, before falling victim to these criminals.

More than a dozen Nebraskans have fallen victim to a telephone scam where a caller claiming to be with the IRS threatens arrest without immediate payment of taxes and fines.

“These impersonators can sound authentic, even spoofing caller ID technology to make it look like the call is coming from the IRS office in Washington, D.C.”, Rutledge said. They will not ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts. He says you can report the call to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

Using whole sections of text from the IRS’s website. If a victim does respond to one of these calls they may find themselves speaking with people who are using fake names and badge numbers.

The IRS will never contact you via email so don’t be fooled.

If you do receive a suspicious call, hang up immediately and do not give out personal information. For instance, require that you pay with a prepaid debit card. “They’re threatening them saying IRS enforcement agents are coming out to their homes to arrest them”, Welsh said.

Do not click on any links embedded in a suspicious email.