No, The IRS is NOT Calling You!

No, The IRS is NOT Calling You!
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It's shocking to pick up your phone and hear a gruff sounding voice claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service advising you that an enforcement action is proceeding against you, or leaving a message asking you to return the call immediately or face serious consequences.

The first time it happened to me I just laughed and hung up. The second time, it came in the form of a message -and I decided to save it and maybe call the FBI. By the third message, I was about to dial my accountant - until I noticed the same distinctive, slightly foreign accent, indicating the same person made the last two calls - even though it appeared they came from far different area codes.

So I did call the FBI. And they directed me to the website that the Treasury department has set up because they have received reports of more than one million of these fraudulent contacts claiming to be Federal agents!

They estimate more than 5,000 people have been scammed into paying at least $29 million as a result of demands that they send cash via prepaid debit cards, money orders or wire transfers.

The website is www.TIGTA.gov and it is the site of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. There is a red box featured prominently on the home page where you can report these fraudulent acts - and learn more about how to deal with them.

Here's what the Treasury Department wants you to know:
1. The IRS almost never calls YOU! All initial contacts from the Internal Revenue Service are made by certified mail. Period. And the IRS never asks you for credit card or banking information over the phone.

2.Just hang up. That's the advice from the Treasury department. Don't respond to the caller, and don't call back if you receive a voicemail threatening action for avoiding an IRS collection matter. If you don't give them any feedback, they are likely to stop calling after a few tries.

3.What if you think you might owe taxes? Hang up on the caller and contact the IRS directly at 800-829-1040. There you can get confidential and secure information about your personal tax situation -- only after you answer identifying questions that only you can answer correctly.

4.Report the scam attempt. At TIFTA.gov, you can click on the red box "IRS Impersonation Scam" and fill out he form. Or call TIGTA at 800-366-4484. If you have the numbers from which you were called in your cell phone record, the Treasury Inspector General will include them in their counter-offensive, which consists of use an auto dialer to call the scammers and hassle them with warnings to cease and desist! (Most scam calls, they say, are from overseas, despite the local area codes that appear on your phone.)

5.Beware of email "phishing" scams in the name of the IRS. Never open an attachment to one of these emails and never click on a link in this kind of email. The IRS does NOT contact you by email. But you can forward any scam emails to phishng@irs.gov.

According to the FBI, you would be surprised at who is most vulnerable to these scams. I assumed they were directed at seniors, but that's far from the case. Actually, young adults seem to be the group hardest hit. They are less sophisticated about how the IRS works, and given their student loans and other debts, they are more willing to believe they could be in arrears with the government.

The very words "IRS tax lien" strike terror in all hearts. There's nothing worse than being on the outs with government tax collectors. But this is not how the IRS does business. And that's The Savage Truth.

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