Full Notification

Monterey Park Police Department
Community: Consumer Alert! Beware of IRS Tax Scammers.
Recently several scams have been reported from our surrounding communities such as Sierra Madre and Arcadia. Nationwide these scams are reportedly on the rise. Protect yourself by being informed of the tactics these criminals use to prey on unsuspecting individuals.
In order to convince people that they are real IRS agents, the scammers use several tricks such as:
Using a computer program to make the IRS’s toll-free number appear on the caller ID
The use of call center background noise so that they appear to be calling from an office
The use of false agent badge numbers
They may provide the last four digits of your Social Security number…

And this complex scam goes even further. Those who hang up on the caller may receive another call soon after from a scammer claiming to be a police officer or a DMV agent.

Remember…

• -Beware of any caller claiming to be from the IRS and demanding money. The IRS announced that it would never ask for payments by wire transfer or a prepaid card and it will typically alert taxpayers of unpaid taxes via the mail, not a phone call.

• -In general, never give anyone money or credit card information over the phone.

• -Never trust callers who use threats and hostility to bully their targets into doing what they want. This is a tactic many scammers use.

• -Be skeptical of what a caller claims he or she can do if you refuse to meet their demand. An IRS agent will not get the police or an immigration agency involved just because you owe taxes.

Remember…

• No legitimate government agency or utility company will demand Green Dot MoneyPaks or Reloadit cards as only form of payments.
• Do not send money to someone you can’t verify, even if the person sounds like the real one over the phone.
• Talk to someone else (or the police) to see it sounds right if you receive a phone call like this.


The IRS has issued several consumer warnings about the fraudulent use of the IRS name or logo by scamsters trying to gain access to consumers’ financial information in order to steal their identity and assets. Scamsters will use the regular mail, telephone, fax or email to set up their victims. When identity theft takes place over the Internet (email), it is called phishing.
The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through email. Unsolicited email claiming to be from the IRS, or from an IRS-related component such as EFTPS, should be reported to the IRS at [email protected].
Additionally, clicking on attachments to or links within an unsolicited email claiming to come from the IRS may download a malicious computer virus onto your computer.