The IRS said telephone scammers are targeting taxpayers and demanding payments for taxes that don’t exist, such as the “federal student tax”.
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Other tricks the IRS has seen used in scam calls this year include caller ID “spoofing”, imitation of software providers to trick tax professionals, and the solicitation of W-2 information from human resources and payroll professionals.
The Fredericksburg Police Department recently reported a 72-year-old resident had been targeted and scammed out of more than $12,000. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.
VSP says there are some common characteristics potential victims can watch our for, including fake and common names, fake IRS badge numbers, scammers having the last four digits of a person’s Social Security Numbers, or sometimes the arrival of fake IRS emails.
The IRS says the scammers can become aggressive and threaten to report student to the police, if payment isn’t made, to be arrested. IRS workers can help with payment questions.
“The caller will try to convince the victim that in order to avoid arrest the victim must transfer money by phone, through prepaid cash cards or other means”. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov.
The agency adds that the best responses to a suspicious call are to give out no information and hang up immediately, and search the Web for the telephone numbers scammers leave in their voicemails asking you to call back, as some of the numbers may be published online and linked to criminal activity.
Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately. Some voicemail services are preset to allow access if you call in from your own phone number. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voice mail if you do not set a password.
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