Congressional Leader/IRS White Plains Field Office Issue Tax Scam Warning
With phone scams, email phishing and other types of fraudulent activity troubling taxpayers across the nation, Congresswomen Nita Lowey (D-Harrison) was joined by federal and state officials Friday morning at IRS offices in White Plains to inform residents on how to recognize, avoid, and report attempted scams.
Since 2013, The IRS Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) discovered roughly 1.9 million taxpayers have received contact from scammers impersonating government officials. During that time, over 10,000 victims have collectively been scammed out of $55.5 million.
“I want to ensure that our community is aware of what’s out there, how to avoid it, how to report it and when we work together we can stop these scams before they do significant damage,” Lowey said at the Apr. 7 press conference.
Scammers contact taxpayers via phone or email notifying them that they owe tax liability to the IRS. The news is generally followed by threats of arrest, deportation, and license revocation, among other things.
“Scammers call pretending to be government officials to trick hard working and unsuspecting victims into making a payment,” said Lowey, who added how she received a call last year where she was told she owed the government money and would face consequence if the debt went unpaid.
“I didn’t fall for it, but it’s easy to see how someone could,” she added.
“Victims are told not to hang up the phone and perpetrators are extremely aggressive,” William Kalb, Special Agent in Charge with TIGTA said. “They capitalize on the fear that they instill in the American taxpayer.”
Kalb added that anyone who is contacted should not provide funds or personal identity information, and should immediately hang up and report the incident.
Thomas Fattorusso, Assistant Special Agent with the IRS Criminal Investigation Department reported that during the 2016 tax season, the IRS saw a 400 percent surge in phishing and malware incidents.
Fattorusso explained that scammers often disguise themselves as an organization executive sending emails to the human resource or payroll departments requesting all employee information, including W2 forms.
He added that this tactic has moved beyond large corporations and is now a growing threat to businesses, school districts, and non-profits.
“Tax professionals are being targeted now because they have a huge database about tax payers including past filing history, so they’re becoming more sophisticated,” Fattorusso said. “Scammers are constantly identifying new tactics to carry out new crimes.”
Lowey warned that the IRS would never call and demand immediate payment without first mailing a bill. She also added how the IRS never demands taxes be paid without first providing the opportunity to appeal.
“The IRS will never require specific types of payments over the phone or bring in law enforcement to arrest you for lack of payment,” Lowe said. “We all know filing taxes is complicated, time consuming and with tax filing season in full swing it’s really important to now where you can turn for help.”
If residents think they are victims of a scam, they should call and report the incident to TIGTA at 1-800-366-4484 or call the New York State Attorney General’s hotline at 1-800-771-7755.
