Mercer County residents warned of phone scam claiming IRS back taxes

The caller ID may be altered to show the call coming from a police department or the IRS.

“If a call or email you receive from someone claiming to be from the IRS doesn’t feel right to you, it may well be a scam”, said Meehan.

If you believe you may be a victim of tax-related identity theft, visit the IRS website for more information on how to report it.

The IRS will not call you to demand immediate payment.

If a person does receive a phone call from someone asking for money for any reason, Randle said to simply hang up.

Consumers should also never be frightened or pressured by callers who claim to be from government or law enforcement agencies.

Contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to report the call.

“They use aggressive language and threaten everything from jail time to deportation to loss of a driver’s license or business license if they money is not paid immediately”, Morrisey said. The callers are contacting parties demanding payment for due taxes.

The IRS won’t threaten to have the local police come and arrest you for not paying.

Aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remain a major threat to taxpayers, headlining the annual “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams for the 2016 filing season, the Internal Revenue Service announced earlier this month.

Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card. For instance, require that you pay with a prepaid debit card.

Wilson advised the public to not give out personal information like banking information to unsolicited callers.

Sheriff Cameron said they altered their number to make it look like his phone was calling itself.

You can also file a complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission.