Staff report
The Indiana State Police are hoping to warn the public of a phone scam involving individuals claiming to be from the IRS.
Police said they are investigating a phone scam involving callers who impersonate IRS representatives and demand immediate payments with pre-paid debit cards and wire transfers. The caller often claims the victim owes thousands of dollars in overdue taxes.
According to the IRS, the agency would always make contact with the taxpayer first by mail or with a personal visit.
The scam continues when the caller tells the victim he cannot use standard forms of payment, specifically a credit card to pay the taxes. The caller tries to justify why the money has to be wired to a PayPal account or paid using a prepaid debit card.
If the caller is unsuccessful talking to the victim the scammer will then threaten the victim with an arrest warrant. The IRS doesn’t have the authority to issue warrants.
In this scam – as with most scams – the calls originate from cell phones or over the internet from all over the United States. Tracking down the 21st century con artist is no easy task. The state police feel that a well informed public is the best defense in combating scammers and remind everyone that these phone scams and cyber crimes are becoming commonplace.
If you feel that you have been a victim of this scam you can contact the Treasury Inspector General on the internet at: http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml
