Full Notification

Nature of Incident: IRS Phone Scam
Report Number:
Location: Ventura County
Date & Time: 4-14-2015
Unit(s) Responsible: Ventura County Sheriff’s Office

Narrative:
With tax season upon us a new scam in Ventura County involving the Internal Revenue Service is here.

Community members throughout the county are receiving fraudulent calls from 877-807-6988. The callers are identifying themselves as IRS members and threatening to block bank accounts and default assets unless the owed debt is paid using Green Dot pre-paid money cards. 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. THIS IS A SCAM.

According to the IRS they 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; or threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

What to do if you receive a suspicious call from the IRS:

1. Record the employee's name, badge number, call back number and caller ID if available.
2. Call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue, if there really is such an issue.
3. If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you’ve never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats as described above), then call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484.
4. You can file a complaint using the FTC Complaint Assistant; choose “Other” and then “Imposter Scams.” If the complaint involves someone impersonating the IRS, include the words “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.
5. Go to www.irs.gov or http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud for further information on scams.

Remember, most scams have three things in common: They will ask you to pay with a Green Dot or money card, they will ask you to wire them the money, or they will ask you to send cash. If someone is emailing, texting, or calling you asking you to pay money in one of these ways it is most likely a SCAM. Always verify with any agency calling you for money by independently looking up a separate phone number for that agency and then call them directly.

Prepared by: Detective Julie Novak
News Release Date: 4-14-2015
Media Follow-Up Contact: Detective Julie Novak 805-388-5115
Approved by: Captain C. Rubright