Just this past Labor Day weekend, I was sitting in my home and enjoying the holiday when I received a voicemail from a toll-free phone number. Upon listening to the recording, the caller introduced himself as a collector from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
According to the agent, I was guilty of tax evasion and tax fraud. He affirmed that there was a petition for my arrest and that I would subsequently be visited by the county sheriff unless I paid the money that I purportedly owed the IRS in taxes. A case number and call-back number was also left on the recording.
Having worked in the financial services industry for nearly five decades, this whole occurrence seemed suspicious to me. I immediately reported the case to the IRS and found that this situation is one of many similar cases under investigation.
This particular scam has already duped more than 90,000 Americans and is reported to be the largest impersonation scam of its kind, conning more than $5 million from victims. Unfortunately, the scammers who impersonate IRS collectors are skillful and, when targeting inexperienced consumers, they can be highly convincing. If it happened to me, it could happen to you or a loved one.
Although tax season is already over, these fraudulent IRS collectors continue to call and deceive innocent Americans every day. Most do so by using a caller ID information-rigging system to appear as if the IRS is calling. In some cases, the scammer will even make a follow-up call claiming to be law enforcement.
In these situations, it is vital to your financial security to never give out your personal information to anyone over the phone. When the IRS contacts people to collect unpaid taxes, they do so by postal mail, never over the phone. If you suspect that you are in the midst of this type of scam, remember to always take notes about the incident and report it immediately to the IRS.
Drew J. Breakspear is commissioner of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation
