IRS Scam Phone Calls Getting You Annoyed?
IRS Scam Phone Calls are quite common especially around tax season deadline. Before you fall victim to IRS fraud read how I almost fell for IRS audit scams. Two days prior to tax filing deadline,I filed my taxes and learned that I owed the IRS a chunk of change which I had to pay by April 18th to avoid interest charges. I wasn’t too happy with giving Uncle Sam my hard earned money still, if the Federal Govt says, you owe them taxes then you have to pay to avoid an irs tax audit.
I filed my taxes on Monday April 12th and right there and then, I was informed about monies due to the IRS and it wasn’t by telephone. The very next day after I came home from work there was a message on my home phone answering machine. It was an IRS fraud call. The Scammers made it look so legit. They had a female leave a message alerting me that the IRS was suing me and that I should call a number which I would later learn
comes from California.
I called the 858-262-3934 number and a man who was part of the IRS fraud scam with an Indian voice ask me to get a pen and paper to make note of some information. He said his name was Officer Roger Williams and his badge number was IRM 786512 and my case file was IRC4265. He proceeded to tell me that after a review of my 2009 to 2014 taxes, there was an IRS tax audit in my name and I owed the IRS $6,495. That I could either settle it now or the authorities will arrest me and I will be charged a higher fee. He knew my name alright but what he wasn’t aware of was that I filed a joint return in 2009. So, I said why would the IRS audit just me? He evaded the question and said the numbers do not match so I must pay up. Then I said let me talk to my Lawyer then, I will get back to you. He said do not hang up the phone and I did just that. Did he call back. No he did not.
After googling the 858 number, results showed that other people received IRS scam phone calls and they alerted others about IRS audit scams. I visited IRS.gov and they had a different take on how they operate. So, should you happen to receive any of those irs phone scam messages just hang up the phone because according to irs.gov/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts “the IRS will never:
- call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill
- demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe
- require you to use a specific payment method for your 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 have you arrested for not paying.