Congressman Pete King Warns of IRS Telephone Scam

Statement

Congressman Pete King (R-Seaford) warns that an aggressive and sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers in an attempt to steal their money has been making the rounds throughout the country.

"Callers claim to be employees of the IRS, but are not. These con artists can sound convincing when they call," Congressman King said. "They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may know a lot about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling."

Rep. King added that victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest or suspension of a business or driver's license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting.

"Victims may also be told they have a refund due to try to trick them into sharing private information," Congressman King added.

Source