During the last 24 hours, many New Castle residents reported getting calls from an individual identifying himself/herself as an agent of the Federal Magistrate and that the resident owed back taxes. The caller states that if the taxes are not paid immediately by phone or wire, they or their spouse will be arrested or sued within the next few hours.
Any one of the following five items is a tell-tale sign of a scam. The IRS will never:
- Call about taxes owed without first mailing you official notice
- Demand that taxes be paid without providing an opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say is owed
- Require someone to use a specific payment method for taxes, such as a prepaid debit card
- Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone
- Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to arrest someone for not paying
If you receive one of these calls, hang up the phone. Report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1-800-366-4484 or online here.
Click here for further information on this scam.
For advice from the FBI on avoiding telephone fraud scams, click here.
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