With tax season upon us, the Gilroy Police Department would like to remind you to be alert for tax and other financial scams.
The following is taken from the IRS website:
“IRS-Impersonation Telephone Scam
An aggressive and sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, has been making the rounds throughout the country. Callers claim to be employees of the IRS, but are not. These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may know a lot about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling.
Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting.
Or, victims may be told they have a refund due to try to trick them into sharing private information.
If the phone isn't answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” callback request.
Note that the IRS will never: 1) call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill; 2) demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe; 3) require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card; 4) ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone; or 5) threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.”
Unfortunately, this has occurred in Gilroy as well as many other communities throughout the country. Please take proactive steps to protect your personal information. Be careful of what mail you throw away. Scammers are known to dig through your trash and recycle bins to find little bits of information that they can compile in an attempt to sound very convincing when they call or to use to open credit and other account with your information.
Visit the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts for more information on this and other IRS scams.
