IRS Will Never Call To Demand Immediate Payment Over The Phone

By Nicholas Gebelt on March 31st, 2016Posted in Debt, Tax debts

I’ve written before about IRS scams involving a call or robocall supposedly from the tax agency demanding immediate payment and threatening arrest if the payment isn’t made.  However, I’m still getting calls from anxious clients rattled by these calls.  Let me repeat, the IRS will never call you to demand immediate payment over the phone.

Here’s what the IRS has to say about this scam:

The IRS will never:

·         Call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you several bills.

·         Call or email you to verify your identity by asking for personal and financial information.

·         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 e-mail.

·         Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money or to verify your identity, here’s what you should do:

If you don’t owe taxes, or have no reason to think that you do:

·         Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.

·         Contact TIGTA to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page. You can also call 800-366-4484.

·         Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.

Stay safe, my readers.  Do not fall for these IRS scams.

However, if you really do have debts and are being harassed, either by legitimate collectors, or by scam artists, consider filing for bankruptcy protection.

And if you are a debtor in the Central District of California, and want to get relief from your creditors, or deal with overwhelming tax debt, contact an extremely knowledgeable and highly skilled bankruptcy/tax attorney to guide you through the process.

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