Wallingford Police Warn of IRS Scam

Tax season is here again and Wallingford police are warning residents not to become victims of con artists who call, claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service in Washington D.C.

The caller claims to be an IRS agent, says you owe money to the IRS and demands immediate payment within 48 hours or claims you’ll be arrested.

Police warn the caller can be extremely aggressive and convincing to people who are not aware of the scam.

This is not a new scam. Police across the state have been issuing warnings for almost a year, but Wallingford residents have recently being targeted with a resurgence of the calls.

Be assured that the IRS will never:

  • Call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill
  • Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe
  • Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit cards or wire transfer (Western Union, Money Gram, etc...)
  • Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone
  • Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying
The State Attorney General and Department of Consumer Protection are warning the public against falling victim for the scam, which has become more pervasive since the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters first reported it in February.

If you receive one of these calls, tell the caller that you are aware of the scam and hang up the phone immediately.

Never give or confirm personal information, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, account numbers and passwords to unsolicited callers and emails, police warn.

If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue, if there really is such an issue.

If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes, for instance, you’ve never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats, call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484.

You can also file a complaint using the FTC Complaint Assistant.

For more information, visit the IRS Web site.

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