CROMWELL – The state’s Better Business Bureau said they are seeing a high number of calls from shook up victims of an Internal Revenue Service scam.
The scam involves telephone callers claiming to represent the IRS. The victims are told they owe money and must pay immediately or they will be arrested.
“We are seeing a spike in the number of calls over the past several weeks from consumers who say are being threatened by the callers, who demand immediate payment by an untraceable method, and threaten them with arrest if they don’t,” said Connecticut Better Business Bureau spokesman Howard Schwartz in a statement. “The callers try to frighten their victims, and unfortunately, it often works. The good news is that the consumers who contact us ignored the callers’ demands.”
The Connecticut BBB said they have received several dozen calls about this IRS scam in the past two weeks and the number of calls from consumers who feel threatened continues to grow.
The fake IRS calls have been rampant across the country, according to the BBB. The scammers ask for personal and financial information, in addition to leaving dozens of threatening messages if nobody picks up the telephone.
If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money and you don’t owe taxes, here’s what you should do:
- Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.
- Contact TIGTA to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page or call 800-366-4484.
- Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.
If you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040
