Residents report con artists posing as IRS on phone

Scammers pretending to work for the Internal Revenue Service were making calls Friday to area residents, said Chief Deputy Jeff Neal with Bowie County Sheriff's Office.

BCSO officials said at least two residents reported receiving phone calls from a caller posing as an IRS employee.

"This time, the calls are showing up as coming from 347-394-1613," Neal said.

"The unknown caller told (them) that if they did not pay the taxes they owed, local law enforcement would be sent out to arrest them," Neal said. "This is the same scam that has been reported to us the past several years and continues to be a nationwide issue."

The IRS states that they will never:

  • call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. Generally, the IRS will first mail you a bill if you owe any taxes.
  • threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
  • demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
  • ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

A list of recent tax scams is also available on the IRS website irs.gov/uac/tax-scams-consumer-alerts, which has lists of known current tax scams. Neal said residents can report tax scammers on the United States Treasury website at
treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml.

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