Tax fraud alert: That’s not the IRS calling … maybe

Tax fraud alert: If the IRS calls, don’t answer the phone. It isn’t the IRS.

Normally.

This year, however, it might be a collection agency working for the IRS. And Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri is complaining about it.

For years, scammers have sought to rip off Americans by imitating the Internal Revenue Service in all sorts of ways. One common method is for the scammer to doctor a caller ID to appear to be calling from the IRS and then demand money from those who answer the calls.

Impersonating the IRS netted scammers $23 million in the last two years, according to McCaskill’s office.

In the past, the IRS has fought such crime by advising taxpayers that it does not call to demand payment. It makes contact by sending a tax bill through the mail. The anti-scam message has been clear that if it looks like the IRS is calling out of the blue, or someone calling says he is from the IRS, don’t believe it.

It’s a message widely repeated.

The problem, the Democratic senator said Tuesday, is that taxpayers who are behind on their taxes can now receive legitimate calls from private collection agencies working for the IRS. It resulted from a change in federal law that allows using automatic dialing, or robocalls, to collect government debt.

“How will an individual know whether a caller claiming to represent the IRS is a scam artist or a government contractor?” McCaskill said in a news release. “While this change in policy may lead to an increase in tax collections, I have very serious concerns that it will only further embolden the scam artists who already prey on individuals by impersonating IRS agents.”

McCaskill sent a letter to IRS commissioner John Koskinen saying the new collection practice confuses “vulnerable individuals.” Koskinen was not immediately available for comment.

Meanwhile, the IRS has issued several alerts describing the creative ways scammers are appropriating the agency’s ID to steal from others. In one email scam, for example, perpetrators appear to be from the IRS’ Taxpayer Advocacy Panel and request personal financial information they can use to steal.

The IRS says it does not:

▪ Call taxpayers demanding immediate payment of taxes owed.

▪ Threaten to bring in the police or other law enforcement to have someone arrested for not paying.

▪ Require taxpayers to use a specific form of payment such as a prepaid debit card (which some scams do demand).

▪ Ask for credit card numbers over the phone.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Tax fraud alert: That’s not the IRS calling … maybe."