State Officials Continue to Warn About Phoney IRS Telephone Scams, and Give Pointers on How to Identify Telephone Scams!

State Officials Issue Warning about Phony IRS Calls, and Offer Free Anti-Scam Publications

12/09/2015 12:26 PM EST

Maine's Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection at the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation (www.maine.gov.pfr) is warning about a scam making its rounds again, just in time for the holiday season.

The Bureau has received multiple reports from consumers in Washington, Aroostook and Kennebec Counties about phony calls from scammers posing as IRS agents, demanding payment immediately to avoid arrest and jail time. The Bureau's Principal Examiner, David Leach, outlined several recent cases:

-- A Pittston man reported his household received a call from a man saying he was an IRS agent, stating his family was in danger of imminent arrest unless money was wired to him the same afternoon.

-- An Aroostook county woman reported a caller saying she was working for the IRS and there was a pending federal lawsuit against her, and the only way it could be stopped was for her to send money that day.

-- A Washington County man stated a neighbor had sent money to a caller purporting to be an IRS agent to settle a tax obligation and avoid a federal action, and later learned he had been scammed, and the money sent was lost.

"Governmental tax agencies will not call consumers and demand immediate payment of overdue taxes," Leach said. "Maine citizens are reporting the same approach by scammers. The calls were their first notice of owing supposedly overdue taxes, and in each case, because it was a scam, no monies were actually due. Legitimate authorities will start their communications with correspondence on agency letterhead, sent from an actual government office, while scammers do not operate in this manner."

Leach noted that scammers typically attempt to scare potential victims into writing funds immediately using such money transmission options such as Western Union, Money Gram or a Green Dot Card. Once the money is wired and received by crooks, it's generally gone for good. The Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection offers the following guidelines:

-- Never send money for alleged overdue taxes in response to a single call from someone claiming to be working for a taxation authority. This is especially true when the caller threatens arrest unless funds are sent by money transmitters or prepaid cash cards.

-- Never disclose personal information such as Social Security number, date of birth, credit card or bank account numbers to unknown callers; this could lead to identity theft.

-- If the caller claims to be from a federal agency like the IRS, ask for the exact name of that agency, the agency's physical address, and the supervisor's direct dial (not an 800 number). If the caller claims to be in Washington DC, the number should have an area code of 202. When in doubt, locate the actual number of the tax authority and call to determine if you are the subject of an overdue tax bill.

-- Report suspicious activity to the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, 1-800-332-8529, or to an IRS office, or a federal law enforcement office in Maine or Boston.

Additional information about the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection and its resources, including its free (to Maine residents) anti-scam titled Gone Phishing, is available by calling the Bureau or online at www.Credit.Maine.gov.