Government imposter scams

IRS Tax Scams Related To Threatening Calls To Elderly Victims 

Many victims got calls from someone impersonating an IRS official, but only a small section reported it because they felt humiliated or did not want to share it. Most such criminals are trained to frighten elderly victims and are skilled to approach them to impersonate as they intend to.

They can impersonate a banker, government authority, elderly neighbour, or police. They have been extracting tax bills by impersonating an IRS official, who promises to perform housework, pay the backlog taxes, or stop penalty alerts from law enforcement.

They ask the victim to send money into their account through the desired mode of payment. They may ask for credit card details when they seek urgent pay for overdue bills and need the social security number or some payment for clearance to avoid legal actions.

In reality, no law enforcement agency ever asks for payment over the phone, and they will never threaten legal issues on calls. 

How Does It Work?

Once you file your taxes online, they try to gain personal information, sign up as the IRS, ask for a new PIN, and file a return. They try to contact the victim, pretending to be an authorised official, only to steal money or account/ personal details.

During the tax season, they call claiming your unpaid tax bill is due for payment and threaten to arrest you if the payment is not made immediately.

They send emails/texts and pose as officials who offer to stop legal actions if you pay the penalty. They pressure the victim to make immediate cash transfers through untraceable methods like wire, gift cards, or payment apps like Venmo.

How To Protect Yourself?

• You get notifications for all legitimate debts and can contest the debt or devise a payment plan. The first red flag is that government officials will not call or message to get the tax debt. 

• All communications should come from and be sent to the mail address registered with the tax office.

• The authorities never ask for a wire, prepaid, or gift card payment.