The Charlestown Police Department has received several complaints from area citizens about “convincing” phone calls and phone messages from the “IRS”; in attempt to panic citizens into thinking they owe taxes to the government and are about to be arrested by local police. THESE CALLS ARE AN ATTEMPT TO SCAM FINANCIAL INFORMATION FROM CITIZENS.
FACTS TO REMEMBER:
The genuine US Government IRS agency does not collect money over the phone, and will always communicate with tax payers via mailed documents. The recent SCAM calls, claiming to be investigators of the Internal Revenue Service; have gone so far as to claim that recent mailed documents from the IRS to you have been ignored, requiring immediate action to avoid being arrested by local police. AGAIN THIS IS A SCAM TECHNIQUE, as such a situation would never be handled by the genuine US Government IRS agency in this manner.
Anyone receiving phone calls from someone claiming to be an IRS representative is advised not to respond to the call; and definitely NEVER GIVE ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION over the telephone, especially to someone who has initiated contact with you, threatening legal action or not. When in doubt, it is always best to personally verify any information offered over the phone.
For more information about this scam, visit https://www.irs.com/articles/irs-warning-about-phone-scams
WHAT TO DO:
If you have received an IRS phone scam call as described above, the US Government requests you report it on-line at https://www.irs.gov/uac/report-phishing.
If you fall victim to any scam involving your personal information, notify the following immediately to protect your financial interests:
-US Social Security Administration at https://oig.ssa.gov/report-fraud-waste-or-abuse;
-Banks and Credit Card Companies you have accounts with;
-Alert all three credit reporting agencies, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
If you have suffered a loss as a result of being victimized by scam, notify your local law enforcement agency to assist in determining if a police report or investigation needs to be completed.
