Local police alert public about IRS phone scam

The Sidney Police Department is making residents aware of a scam that has come to light in Sidney as Christmas nears.

The Sidney Police have received several calls from residents in the last few weeks stating that they had been allegedly contacted by the IRS.

The caller indicates that they are calling from or on the behalf of the IRS, and it has been determined that they are in default on a particular payment or penalty to the IRS that needs to be rectified immediately. The caller goes on to say that if they make a payment now the issue will be resolved and no further action will be taken.

“These calls are another phone scam trying to frighten people into committing their personal resources and/or information over the phone, which will be used to take their life savings in many instances, and commit identity theft and fraud,” said Sidney Police Chief B.J. Wilkinson.

According to the IRS website the IRS wants citizens to know they will never:

• Call to demand immediate payment, nor will we call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.

• Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.

• Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.

• Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

“These telephone scams are being seen in every part of the country, and we urge people not to be deceived by these threatening phone calls,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said. “We have formal processes in place for people with tax issues. IRS respects taxpayer rights, and these angry, shake-down calls are not how we do business.”

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 (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 (800) 366-4484.

• You can file a complaint using the FTC Complaint Assistant; choose “Other” and then “Impostor Scams.” If the complaint involves someone impersonating the IRS, include the words “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.

The IRS encourages taxpayers to be aware of scams like these that use the IRS as a lure. The IRS will not initiate contact by email nor will they request financial or personal information. This includes any electronic communication such as text messages and social media channels.

The IRS also does not ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts. Recipients should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, you can forward the e-mail to [email protected].