If you receive a threatening call from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), hang up. It’s a scam.
That is the advice of Lisa Weintraub Schifferle, an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC's) division of consumer and business education, and the subject of a YouTube video the FTC jointly produced with the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) to warn the public of the scam.
According to the video, scammers will call a victim and identify themselves as being from the IRS. The imposter will then inform the victim of their intention to file a lawsuit against him or her for back taxes. The scammer may also threaten the victim with arrest or deportation. Scammers will demand payment of money by wire transfer, prepaid card or gift card.
Weintraub Schifferle said that the IRS would not require a specific type of payment. She advised anyone receiving such a call not to give out their personal or financial information. If in doubt, she said, call the IRS directly at 1 (800) 428-1040.
Weintraub Schifferle urged anyone receiving such a call to not only hang up on the caller, but to report it to the Treasury inspector general for tax administration at tigta.gov or to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.
Weintraub Schifferle said that anyone receiving a call from an IRS imposter should also tell family and friends about the experience. She said that the more people who know about the scam, the more prepared the community will be to deal with it.