The IRS has recently issued a warning to parents and students to be aware of the latest trick in the scammer’s trade, the back to school scam.

It’s back to school season and scammers have set their sights on parents and students by demanding payments for non-existent taxes, such as the “Federal Student Tax.”

Be on the lookout for IRS impersonators calling parents and students, demanding that they wire money to pay this fake tax. If the person does not comply, the imposter becomes aggressive and threatens to report them to the police where they’ll be arrested.

Scammers are constantly identifying new tactics to carry out their crimes in new and unscrupulous ways. This year, scammers have used a variety of schemes to fool taxpayers into paying money or giving up personal information.

Some of these include:

Altering the caller ID on incoming phone calls in a “spoofing” attempt to make it seem like the IRS, the local police or another agency is calling.

Imitating software providers to trick tax professionals

Demanding fake tax payments using iTunes gift cards.

Soliciting W-2 information from payroll and human resources professionals.

“Verifying” tax return information over the phone.

Pretending to be from the tax preparation industry.

Things to Remember

The IRS will never call and demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer.

Threaten you with immediate arrest if payment is not received.

Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.

Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

What you should do

Do not give out any information, hang up immediately.

Search the internet for the phone numbers that the scammers left in your voicemail. Some of the phone numbers may be published online and linked to criminal activity.

Contact TIGTA to report the call.

Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.

Sources

https://www.treasury.gov/Pages/default.aspx

https://search.irs.gov

http://consumer.ga.gov/

The information found on the Gerstenberger Law site is for educational purposes only.  Your situation and the situation of others is unique and more complex.  This is neither legal advice nor to be considered legal advice.  Contact us for advice about your specific situation

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