Janesville Police have been advised of numerous fraudulent tax scams by phone to area residents in the past 24 hours. Unexpected residents have complained that scam artists have made allegations to residents that they will be taken into custody by local police for serious charges because of miscalculations in income tax.
Most of these fraudulent calls are originating from the *614* are code in Ohio. These calls are fraudulent and residents should never send any money, provide any further information to these callers, and should hang up immediately.
Please review the following safety tips:
Avoid telephone scams:
Criminals impersonate IRS employees and call taxpayers in aggressive and sophisticated ways. Imposters claim to be IRS employees and sound very convincing. They use fake names and phony IRS identification badge numbers. They’re demanding and threatening – and do not reflect how the IRS handles enforcem ent matters.
Note that the IRS does not:
Demand that people use a specific payment method, such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. The IRS will not ask for debit or credit card numbers over the phone. For people who owe taxes, make payments to the U.S. Treasury or review IRS.gov/payments for IRS online options.
Demand immediate tax payment. Normal correspondence begins with a letter in the mail and taxpayers can appeal or question what they owe. All taxpayers are advised to know their rights as a taxpayer.
Threaten to bring in local police, immigration officers or other law enforcement agencies to arrest people for not paying. The IRS also cannot revoke a license or immigration status. Threats like these are common tactics scam artists use to trick victims into believing their schemes.
