fs-2018-12, May 2018
Criminals who impersonate the IRS by phone, email, or in person cost people their time and money. The IRS urges people to stay vigilant against schemes and scams and avoid becoming victims.
Here are some important tips taxpayers should keep in mind to avoid scams:
how the irs initiates contact
The irs initiates most contact with taxpayers through regular mail delivered by the united states. Postal Service. however, there are special circumstances when they will call or go to a home or business, such as:
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when a taxpayer has an overdue tax bill,
to obtain a late tax return or late payroll tax payment, or
to tour a business, for example as part of an audit or during criminal investigations.
Even then, taxpayers will usually first receive one or sometimes more than one letter, often called notices, from the IRS in the mail.
avoid phone scams
Criminals pose as your employees and call taxpayers in aggressive and sophisticated ways. the imposters claim to be your employees and sound very convincing. They use fake names and fake irs identification plate numbers. they are demanding and threatening, and do not reflect how the irs handles compliance matters.
note that the irs does not:
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requiring people to use a specific payment method, such as a prepaid debit card, gift card, or wire transfer. The IRS will not ask you for debit or credit card numbers over the phone. for people who owe taxes, make payments to the us uu. treasury or check irs.gov/payments for irs online options.
demand the immediate payment of taxes. normal correspondence begins with a letter in the mail and taxpayers can appeal or dispute what they owe. It is recommended that all taxpayers know their rights as taxpayers.
Threatening to bring in local police, immigration officers, or other law enforcement agencies to arrest people for not paying. The IRS also cannot revoke a license or immigration status. Threats like these are common tactics scammers use to trick victims into believing their schemes.
irs employees can make official visits without notice
IR employees may make official and sometimes unannounced visits to discuss taxes due or returns due as part of an audit or investigation. Taxpayers will usually first receive a letter or notice from the IRS in the mail. If a taxpayer has an outstanding federal tax debt, the IRS will request payment in full, but will offer a variety of payment options.
here are the facts:
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all irs representatives will always provide their official credentials, commission pocket calls and an hspd-12 card. the hspd-12 card is a government-wide standard form of reliable identification for federal employees and contractors. taxpayers have a right to see these credentials. IRS employees can provide an additional method of verifying your ID. Upon request, they can provide a toll-free employee verification phone number.
Collection clerks will not demand immediate payment from a non-“US” source. treasury.”
irs employees can call taxpayers to schedule appointments or discuss audits, but not without first trying to notify taxpayers by mail.
irs employees conducting criminal investigations are federal law enforcement officers and will never demand money.
Find more information about criminal investigation and how to tell if it’s really the IRS calling or knocking on doors for audits and collections at irs.gov.
avoid email schemes, phishing and malware
Scammers send emails that trick businesses and taxpayers into believing the messages are official communications from the IRS or others in the tax industry. As part of phishing schemes, scammers sometimes ask taxpayers about a wide range of topics, including refunds, marital status, confirming personal information, requesting transcripts, and verifying personal identification numbers.
The IRS does not use email, text, or social media to discuss tax debts or refunds with taxpayers.
calls from private collection agencies contracted by the irs
The IRS assigns certain overdue tax debts to private debt collection agencies, or PCAS. These are the facts about this program:
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The Internal Revenue Service will send a letter to the taxpayer informing them that the Internal Revenue Service has turned their case over to one of the four PCAs. The PCA will also send the taxpayer a letter confirming the assignment of the taxpayer’s account to the agency.
The IRS will assign a taxpayer’s account to only one of these agencies, never all four. The IRS does not authorize any other private group to represent the IRS.
It is important to know that pca representatives:
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will identify themselves and request payment to “u.s. treasury,”
will not request payment from a prepaid debit or gift card, and
will not take coercive measures.
how to report scams
Taxpayers can use these options to report phone, email and other phishing scams:
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Report phishing scams to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. on the “irs phishing scam reports” webpage.
report phone scams to the federal trade commission using the ftc complaint wizard. add “irs phone scam” in the notes.
Report an unsolicited email claiming to be from the IRS or an IRS-related system, such as the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.
more information:
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phishing and malware video
report phishing
2018 dirty dozen list
video of private collection of back taxes
tigta: is the irs calling me? this is serious? video
publication 4518pdf, what you can expect when the irs assigns your account to a private collection agency
security summit
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