IRS Scammers Hit Stamford: Police

Phone scammers apparently are getting a head start on the tax season in Stamford.

According to Stamford Police Department, it “has received more than 50 reports this week from residents stating that they have received phone calls from people claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).”

Police said, “The potential scam victims are told that they need to pay back taxes or will be immediately arrested. They are instructed to pay the fine in the form of Green Dot cards or other non-traditional forms of payment.”

“This is a scam,” police said.

Police advise:

“No police department or government agency will call you and ask you to pay a fine using Green Dot cards or any other form of payment. No police department or government agency will allow you to make a payment in lieu of being arrested.

If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from a government agency and you are skeptical of their credentials.”

If you have fallen victim to a phone scam, notify the Stamford Police Department to generate a report.

Also, the below websites could be helpful to report fraud to Government agencies.

Online form to specifically to report IRS Fraud Scam: https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml
Information on what types of fraud the Federal Trade Commission takes reports on: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0076-phone-scams
Link to make a fraud report with FTC:
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#&panel1-1

Photo credit: treasury.gov.