IRS SCAM
Consumers duped out of $26.5 million
“You owe us thousands of dollars on your taxes“
Get protection from IRS scams
YouMail – the totally free service that stops over 1 million bad guys from ringing your phone!
What you should know
The IRS Scam starts with a phone call, often with a caller ID marked “IRS” or “unavailable.” The scammers will quickly try to convince you they are IRS employees using fake names, fraudulent badge numbers and occasionally, your personal information.
Here are two typical scenarios – both with live calls and voicemails – that are NOT sanctioned or utilized by the real IRS:
- The consumer owes money to the IRS and the “debt” must be paid immediately. Consumers are threatened with arrest, confiscation of a driver’s license or passport, notification of their employer or forced closure of their business. The scammers are very aggressive and demand that the “tax debt” be paid immediately by a debit card or wire transfer to avoid any negative consequences.
- The consumer is told that they are due a large tax refund, but the IRS is having difficulties delivering payment. For example, there’s an issue with transferring the money to a credit card or bank account. The scammer will then ask for banking information to initiate the transfer. They then use the consumer’s financial information to transfer money into their accounts.
How YouMail can help stop IRS scams today
YouMail customers are protected from scammers, spammers and other unwanted callers. And it’s 100% totally free. Our exceptional call blocking and caller ID capabilities effectively block calls and remove any and all numbers from robocaller lists – FOREVER.
What you should do
- Don’t answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize! That’s true even if it’s from your own area code. Note that sometimes scammers “spoof” their phone number and hide their identity behind a number with a familiar local area code.
- Find out more about the number. Check out YouMail’s online phone directory to see if that number has negative reports or is from a known scammer.
- Let calls from numbers you don’t recognize roll to voicemail. Voicemail is your greatest asset against fraud. Many scammers will not bother leaving a voicemail message and if you utilize YouMail’s voicemail solution known scam callers will hear an “out of service” message causing them to remove your number from their call lists.
Our best advice
It’s one thing to get annoying calls from telemarketers, but quite another to be the target of an aggressive and sophisticated phone scam specifically designed to scam taxpayers out of thousands upon thousands of dollars. Scammers are after your money and possibly your identity as well. By staying alert and knowing the warning signs, you can keep your family safe.