IRS scam making rounds in Richland

Scammers pretending to work for the IRS are targeting Richland Parish residents.

Jan Alderman said she received a message saying that she would be arrested if she didn’t pay $3,800 that day.

Alderman said voice mail stated an arrest warrant was already filed with the sheriff’s office and urged her to call back and make arrangements to pay immediately to avoid jail.

Alderman immediately called the IRS and Richland Parish Sheriff Lee Harrell.

“I tried to call the IRS but, of course, you can’t get through,” she said. “I called Lee and he said he didn’t have a warrant for me.”

At this point, she called the number on the voice mail and was greeted by a voice with a foreign accent, claiming to be in Washington, D.C. The phone operator immediately began threatening her.

“I told him even if I wanted to pay him, I couldn’t because the banks wouldn’t be open on Monday,” she said. “He didn’t know what I was talking about. How could you work in Washington, D.C., and not know Monday was a federal holiday?”

This ended the matter for Alderman.

“I just want to warn other people that this is a scam and they should be careful,” Alderman said.

The IRS has seen a surge of these phone scams in recent months as scam artists threaten police arrest, deportation, license revocation and other things. The IRS reminds taxpayers to guard against all sorts of con games that arise during any filing season.

“If someone calls unexpectedly claiming to be from the IRS with aggressive threats if you don’t pay immediately, it’s a scam artist calling,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “The first IRS contact with taxpayers is usually through the mail. Taxpayers have rights, and this is not how we do business.”

He said The IRS will never:

• Call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency 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.

• Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

“These criminals try to scare and shock you into providing personal financial information on the spot while you are off guard,” Koskinen said. “Don’t be taken in and don’t engage these people over the phone.”

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

If you know you owe taxes or think you might owe, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.

The IRS workers can help you with a payment issue.

If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to believe that you do, report the incident to the TIGTA at 1-800-366-4484 or at www.tigta.gov.