IRS Scam Phone Calls on the Decline

Posted on December 02, 2016

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you are aware that there are many different types of IRS scams where imposters try to separate you from your money by pretending to be the IRS. These scammers utilize different methods to attempt to steal money from you, including fake IRS letters, fake emails and fake telephone calls from the IRS.

On October 27, 2016, the United States government unsealed an indictment targeting scam call centers in India following a raid by Indian police of a scam call center on October 4, 2016. In an email from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) on November 23, 2016, a spokesperson stated that “since announcing our indictment, reports of these fraudulent calls have dropped significantly, from a high of over 38,000 new reports a week to just over 2,000 reports of fraudulent calls to TIGTA last week.”

This represents a nearly 95 percent decrease in the amount of reported fraudulent telephone calls. On November 22, 2016, the Better Business Bureau confirmed that it also received fewer IRS scam complaints to its Scam Tracker data base.

We are glad to learn that the number of IRS scam telephone calls is significantly lower than it has been in the recent past. However, 2,000 reports of fraudulent phone calls in a week is still too many.

Have you received a scam telephone call from the “IRS”? We strongly suggest that you ignore that telephone call, do not provide any personal information to the caller and report the scam telephone call to the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov.

Do you owe money to the IRS? Are you under audit? Please contact us; we can help.