WASHINGTON – Aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remain a major threat to taxpayers, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
The warning headlines their annual “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams for the 2016 filing season.
The IRS has seen a surge of these phone scams and reminds taxpayers to guard against all sorts of con games that arise during any filing season.
“Taxpayers across the nation face a deluge of these aggressive phone scams. Don’t be fooled by callers pretending to be from the IRS in an attempt to steal your money,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a statement on the IRS website. “We continue to say if you are surprised to be hearing from us, then you’re not hearing from us.”
“There are many variations. The caller may threaten you with arrest or court action to trick you into making a payment,” Koskinen said. “Some schemes may say you’re entitled to a huge refund. These all add up to trouble. Some simple tips can help protect you.”
The Dirty Dozen is compiled annually by the IRS and lists a variety of common scams taxpayers may encounter any time during the year. Many of these con games peak during filing season as people prepare their tax returns or hire someone to do so.
This January, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration announced they have received reports of roughly 896,000 contacts since October 2013 and have become aware of over 5,000 victims who have collectively paid over $26.5 million as a result of the scam.
“The IRS continues working to warn taxpayers about phone scams and other schemes,” Koskinen said on the site. “We especially want to thank the law-enforcement community, tax professionals, consumer advocates, the states, other government agencies and particularly the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for helping us in this battle against these persistent phone scams.”
