The Dalton Police Department has received multiple complaints from residents reporting a phone scam by callers claiming to be from the IRS. In at least one case, an area resident sent the callers more than $3,000 before realizing that it was a scam.
In this particular scam, callers claiming to either be from the IRS or from an accounting firm working with the IRS call and tell victims that they are owe the government money and that they have a warrant for the arrest of the victim. In at least one case, the scammers threatened the victim that she would be arrested if she hung up the phone. The scammers then direct the victim to withdraw a sum of money and then deposit the money into their bank account at the Bank of America.
The IRS or other government agencies do not work in this manner. Information posted on the IRS website at www.irs.gov states that the agency will not call to demand an immediate payment and will not contact you by phone without first sending a bill in the mail. They will also never demand payment without allowing one to question of appeal the amount owed. They will also never demand that one pays in a specific way (such as depositing the money into a bank account in this case or putting money onto a prepaid debit card). IRS officials will also never threaten to bring in police or other law enforcement to arrest you for non-payment. They will also never ask for a credit, debit, or social security information over the phone. The IRS advises one to simply hang up without giving information out if they don’t owe taxes or don’t believe that they do. If one isn’t sure, they can hang up and call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to find out.
Officials said, "This is just one scheme that phone scammers are trying to pull off. If someone calls you claiming to be from any government organization demanding money, it’s most likely not legitimate."