IRS phone scam circulating in the Midstate

The sheriff’s office has received many complaints about an individual claiming to be “Sergeant McBride from the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office”. “If you owe any money to the IRS, they’re not going to call you, but they’ll send out a letter”.

The Sheriff’s Office does not ask for credit card numbers, pre-paid debit card information or other private information over the telephone, a news release said. Tracking these cards is hard and often results in discovering the funds were transferred outside of the United States. During the calls, the individual has been calling citizens claiming to have warrants on file for them and directing them to call a telephone number for further information, the release said.

If you receive one of these calls, call the agency the caller claims to represent directly. The caller will state that they are a child or grandchild in jail, and they need money to post bond or pay for legal expenses. The methods of payment are usually made with Green Dot Money Pak and Reloadit cards.

According to the sheriff’s office, there are three types of scams now circulating in the area. “We’ll get people that call up and ask questions and our answers are always, ‘it’s a scam'”.

The IRS scams are so widespread that the government agency that enforces the tax code has a special section on its website to report them and includes detailed information about the types of scams that are out there. Receiving a call from these organizations is a sign of a possible scam.