Felder Warns of IRS Scams Escalating in District

Despite the IRS’s repeated declarations that they do not initiate email contact with citizens or request personal information over the phone, there is an escalation in scams, State Sen. Simcha Felder said Tuesday.

Felder, a Brooklyn Democrat, said that his office has received “numerous phone calls” regarding a phone scam, in which respondents are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses, they are threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license.

After the threat, scammers hang up. But others soon call back pretending to be from Homeland Security, police or DMV. They offer to “settle” for several thousand dollars if it is paid promptly.

According to the IRS website, they do not “initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. … The IRS also does not ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts.”

If you owe taxes and get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, hang up and call the IRS directly.

This article appeared in print on page 18 of the July 2nd, 2014 edition of Hamodia.