The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office issued an updated consumer alert on Wednesday warning residents of telephone scam artists calling and pretending to be with the IRS.
“We’ve received a great many reports lately and the Joint Communications Center in Green River is being flooded with calls,” Det. Dick Blust, the sheriff’s office public information officer, said.
“These callers are aggressive, even threatening, and they demand money. They can sound convincing when they call. They may know a lot about you, and they often alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling. They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. If you don’t answer, they often leave an ‘urgent’ callback request.”
The sheriff’s office is passing tips from the IRS on spotting fake calls. There are a few things the scammers often do, but the IRS won’t. Any one of these things is a sign of a scam.
The IRS will not call to demand immediate payment; nor will it call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill or other formal notice.
The IRS will not demand that a person pay taxes without giving them the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say is owed.
They will not require use of a specific payment method for taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
Nor will they ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
The IRS will not threaten to bring in local police or other law enforcement groups to have a person arrested for not paying.
If someone receives a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, there are options of action to take.
If someone does owe taxes or think they might owe, they should call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS workers can help with a payment issue.
Blust also said the IRS does not use unsolicited email, text messages or any social media to discuss personal tax issues.
Officer Luke Benson of the Green River Police Department said a recent scam call they have been notified of in Green River specifically is a credit card scam.
Benson urges people to know that if they receive a call from someone demanding money from them, whether it is a supposed credit card company or any other company, don’t give them any personal information.
“If it is a legitimate source calling you, they are going to have that information already,” Benson said. “They should already have your information. They shouldn’t have to solicit if from you.”
Benson listed two resources for further fraud and scam call information and complaints; ic3.gov and fbi.gov.
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