MEDIA RELEASE

Police are reminding the public about scams involving phone calls from people claiming to be Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees demanding payment and stating that if payment is not made, then fines of over $1000 will be issued. These scammers usually demand payment in the form of a money order.

According to instructions from the official IRS website (www.irs.gov), if you receive a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, you should:

Record the employee’s name, badge number, call back number and caller ID if available.
Call 1-800-366-4484 to determine if the caller is an IRS employee with a legitimate need to contact you.
If the person calling you is an IRS employee, call them back.
If not, report the incident to TIGTA and to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov (Subject: ‘IRS Phone Scam’).
For more information visit: www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing

Police are advising anyone receiving similar calls to avoid giving any personal information or money without verifying that the call is legitimate.