Police Warn Residents Of Telephone Scam Involving IRS Claims
Posted
Staff Report-
A scam involving people claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service has returned to the area.
Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department deputies are investigating a phone scam involving callers or automated call who impersonate IRS representatives and demand immediate payments with pre-paid debit cards and wire transfers.
The caller often claims the victim owes thousands of dollars in overdue taxes. However, according to the IRS, the agency always makes contact with the taxpayer first by mail or with a personal visit, according to a news release from KCSD.
As the scam continues, the caller says standard forms of payment cannot be used and instead specifies using a credit card to pay the taxes. The caller tries to justify why the money has to be wired to a PayPal account or paid using a prepaid debit card. The caller will often threaten the possibility of a warrant for their arrest, which is not a standard approach.
Sheriff Rocky Goshert advises that residents are advised to simply hang-up, and to not provide any personal information to the caller. Goshert also stated that it is only necessary to contact law enforcement if you have had an actual loss of potential funds to the scam. He also stated that the scam has escalated this week, and some of the callers are also saying that they represent Homeland Security, which also is not true.
