Full Notification

The crime begins with a phone call from someone claiming to be with the IRS or a federal agent working with the IRS. The imposter tells the consumer he or she owes money that must be paid with a prepaid card or wire transfer or face jail time. The fraudster often alters the caller ID to make it appear as the call originates from Washington, D.C. Scammers even use fake badge names and numbers and may even know a consumer's full or partial social security number, lending credibility to the scam.  

"Fraudsters are very convincing. They use threats of jail, deportation or anything else they know will play on their victims' emotions and force them to react," says Kim Garner, MoneyGram's senior vice president of global investigations.  "The most important thing every consumer should remember is the IRS will never call a taxpayer to ask for a money transfer or credit card number. The agency will never threaten to arrest or deport a taxpayer over the telephone. Anyone who receives a call like this should hang up immediately."

Consumers who think they've been a victim of the IRS scheme or any other scam should file a police report, even if only a small amount of money was lost. Reporting a crime helps law enforcement spot trends and stay ahead of the criminals as well as the fast-changing fraud scenarios.

MoneyGram has taken a leadership position in consumer fraud education and is the founding member of the Scam Awareness Alliance, a nonprofit organization that provides information about scams. Consumers can learn more at scamawareness.org