Merced officials warn against scams during tax season

The Treasury Department has a message for taxpayers getting calls from the IRS demanding immediate payment: Hang up.

Those aggressive, threatening calls are coming from phone scammers. And they are successful, too, costing more than 5,000 victims more than $26.5 million since October 2013. About 900,000 scammer contacts were reported during that period.

The callers fraudulently claim to be IRS officials and demand that taxpayers immediately send them payment. They often have some personal information about the person they’re calling and threaten criminal charges unless immediate payment is made.

“This scam has proven to be the largest of its kind that we have ever seen,” said J. Russell George, U.S. Treasury Department inspector general for tax administration. “It is critical that all taxpayers continue to be wary of unsolicited telephone calls and emails from individuals claiming to be IRS and Treasury employees.”

Sgt. Delray Shelton, Merced County Sheriff’s Department spokesman, said while reports of scammers are heard of year-round, it is typical to see a rise during tax season. He advises residents to be cognizant of giving personal information over the phone.

“Unfortunately, these scammers tend to target the elderly,” Shelton said. “People have to be weary. If it doesn’t sound right, chances are it’s not.”

A lot of it is also using common sense, Shelton added. Whether it be the IRS or credit card companies, people know who they owe money to.

Also, the IRS sends letters rather than calling taxpayers.

“We ask that people don’t even entertain the conversation,” Shelton said. The best thing to do is to report it to authorities, he said.

The Treasury Department advises that taxpayers who are contacted by phone scammers fill out an “IRS impersonation scam” form on the Treasury inspector general website, at www.treasury.gov/tigta, or call Treasury officials at 800-366-4484.

Meanwhile, tax filing season opened Tuesday, and the IRS says its systems are running smoothly. It says 9 of 10 taxpayers should receive their refunds within three weeks of filing their returns.

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Merced officials warn against scams during tax season."