The thieves are at it again with the phony IRS phone calls.
My husband, Jim, got 10 phone calls in three days on his cell phone from a man that called himself Officer Shawn White, stating in a very stern (pre-recorded) voice, that if Jim didn't call back immediately there would be a federal arrest warrant issued and the consequences would be on Jim's head.
This week, we have gotten several phone calls on our home phone stating that we needed to call 440-732-6189 (listed as an Ohio call) or a federal tax lien would be issued. Since I know that we do not owe any taxes, this was an obvious attempt to extort money.
The IRS sends letters if you owe back taxes. They rarely call, and if they do call, they never demand immediate payment by phone, threaten a lawsuit, or your arrest.
One of the many signs that such a call is fraudulent would be the request that payments be made in the form of bit coins, gift cards, prepaid debit cards, or iTunes cards.
This is not the way the IRS operates — it is how thieves steal money. These scams work because people are afraid of the IRS and when they hear that a warrant is being issued, or a federal lien is being processed against their property, they are willing to do almost anything to avoid problems with the IRS. This fear is what these thieves play upon.
WHAT TO DO
If you suspect that you have received a fraudulent call, contact the IRS at 877-438-4338 and report the suspected fraud.
Here is a warning I received by email from the Internal Revenue Service: "REMEMBER: No legitimate United States Treasury or IRS official will demand that payments via Western Union, MoneyGram, bank wire transfers or bank deposits be made into another person’s account for any debt to the IRS or Treasury. Hang up on these fraudulent callers and go to the TIGTA scam reporting page to report the call."
On a more positive note, I hope that many of you were able to attend the CHS choral concert. The choirs were fabulous and the variety of music was wonderful. The concert was amazing.
We have so much talent in Crestview and it was displayed well. Thank you choir members and Mr. Lusk for an outstanding, enjoyable performance.
Janice Lynn Crose, a former accountant, lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CROSE: IRS phone scams escalating — here's how to respond