If caller ID says ‘IRS’ it’s likely a scammer after your money

  • By Michelle Singletary
  • Friday, April 11, 2014 6:50pm
  • Business

Imagine your caller ID indicates the Internal Revenue Service is on the line.

You think, “I better answer this call.” You are told that you owe a large tax bill and will need to immediately wire money to avoid serious consequences. You might protest, but then the caller threatens you with arrest, suspension of your driver’s license or, if you are an immigrant, deportation. The caller may also follow up, pretending to be from the local police or your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. Again, caller ID will lead you to believe the phone call is legitimate.

But it is not. It’s a fraud. The caller is using a practice known as “caller ID spoofing.” The displayed telephone number or name has been falsified.

The IRS, which has seen an increase in this type of scam, would not request payment in such a manner nor threaten to send police to your home. Nor would the agency ask for your bank account or credit card information for a payment over the phone.

In addition to the caller ID trick, scammers might try these methods:

Fake names and titles, or use actual titles to make the call or email seem valid.

Read to you part of your Social Security number. Think about it. Lots of things we do officially include the last four digits of this number. I’ve often seen such paperwork casually tossed in a trash can or left lying around, easy pickings for someone up to no good.

Email you before or soon after making the fake call. If you do indeed owe money, the IRS will contact you first through the U.S. Postal Service.

Simulate a call center. You might hear background noise of other people talking.

In the days now leading up to the tax-filing deadline, law enforcement officials across the country are warning people about the phony tax scam. The police chief in Laurel, Md., sent out an alert to residents after receiving complaints.

A senior living in Santa Cruz County, Calif., got such a call. The caller said he was from the IRS Criminal Tax Fraud Unit, according to a consumer advisory from the Santa Cruz District Attorney’s Consumer Affairs Office. The man told the woman, identified only as Hazel, that she owed more than $6,800 in overdue taxes and if she refused to allow access to her bank account for payment, she would face fines of more than $16,700.

Thank goodness Hazel contacted her tax preparer before sending any money. Another woman, identified as Mary from Michigan, wasn’t so wise. Having already had some tax issues, she believed the caller when he said she owed the IRS $4,900 following a four-year audit of her returns, according to a local television report. The caller said a warrant for her arrest would be issued if she didn’t pay immediately.

“You think that the guys are going to show up at your front door with handcuffs and take you away,” the woman, hidden in shadows, tearfully told the news station.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, alarmed about the increasing number of people getting the phony calls, issued a warning last month. The agency said it has received reports of more than 20,000 contacts in the phony tax scam involving thousands of victims who have been cheated out of more than $1 million. The scam has hit taxpayers in nearly every state, the agency said.

So here’s what officials say you should do if you get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS.

Hang up and call the IRS at 800-829-1040. Don’t call any number the person gives you.

You can help other potential victims by reporting the call to the Treasury’s inspector general at 800-366-4484. Also inform the Federal Trade Commission by filing a complaint at www.ftc.gov. In your complaint, be sure to indicate you’re reporting an IRS telephone scam.

Forward any suspect emails to phishing@irs.gov. Please don’t open any attachments or click on any links in the email. And be aware that some of the scams involve claims that you are entitled to a refund. I just got one such email.

Don’t believe the hype or scare tactics. Just go to the source — the IRS — to independently verify any call, email or text you receive about your tax situation.

Michelle Singletary: michelle.singletary@washpost.com.

Washington Post Writers Group

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.