IRS Scams: Chelmsford Residents Urged to Be On Guard

CHELMSFORD, MA - With tax season quickly approaching, IRS scammers are out in full force trying to attack your wallet.

Chelmsford Police Chief James Spinney and the Chelmsford Police Department are urging residents to vigilant so they don’t fall victim to the scams.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported approximately 4,550 victims of IRS scams nationwide from October 2013 to 2015, with the victims losing more than $23 million dollars.

According to Spinney’s warning, scammers will identify themselves as IRS “agents” and tell potential victims that an audit revealed they had underpaid taxes and owe money to the IRS. Some callers threaten to file lawsuits or tell residents that a lawsuit had already been filed against them. The scammers say the only way to rectify the situation is to immediately send a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer to a specified address.

“The IRS will never call you and ask you to send them money through a wire transfer or a debit card and police will never threaten to arrest you for unpaid taxes,” Spinney said in a statement. “As we head into tax season, do not leave yourself vulnerable. Stay alert and immediately report the incident if you receive a call.”

The police department provided some additional tips to avoid falling victim to the scam:

• Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.
• Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security Number.
• Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it’s the IRS calling.
• Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls.
• Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.
• After threatening victims with jail time or driver’s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim.

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here’s what you should do:

• If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue – if there really is such an issue.
• If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you’ve never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats as described above), then call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1.800.366.4484.
• If you’ve been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your complaint.

As a good general reminder, the Chelmsford PD reminds residents to never send pre-paid debit cards or wire transfers to an unknown party; that money generally cannot be recovered.

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