Full Notification

The Sausalito Police Department has recently seen an increase in complaints regarding fraudulent telephone calls. Citizens are reporting they are being contacted by individuals that are representing themselves as either an IRS Agent or an Agent from the U.S. Treasury Department. There have been different variations of the scam but they typically involve the caller stating that enforcement action has been executed against the resident. The caller then informs the resident that they have to pay a fine and that if the resident ignores the call; they will have to appear before a magistrate or judge for a federal criminal offense. The caller advises the resident to cooperate with them and provides a phone number for the resident to call to verify the agent’s identity. The phone numbers usually have local area codes from the bay area and have so far been traced back to non-serviceable internet based phone services.

The Sausalito Police Department would like to remind citizens to never give personal information such as date of birth, social security numbers or any bank account numbers over the phone or internet to unknown sources. Do not send any form of payment to any address or bank account. Legitimate law enforcement and governmental agencies do not demand to have “fines” paid in lieu of arrest. If you receive a call you believe is a scam, immediately notify your local law enforcement agency and provide them with as much information as possible about the caller and the number it originated from.