Montanans warned of IRS Impersonation Scam
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News from the Montana Department of Justice
Attorney General Tim Fox warned Montanans about aggressive and sometimes threatening phone calls from scammers impersonating agents of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“Our Office of Consumer Protection is receiving a deluge of calls from citizens reporting they’ve been contacted by scammers purporting to be from the IRS,” said Attorney General Fox. “These callers are using the same tactics we warned Montanans about earlier this year: Basically, they come across as angry and aggressively hunt for your personal information, while demanding that money be wired to them immediately or a lawsuit or jail time will follow.”
Attorney General Fox added that while the scams are often carried out via telephone, they can also come in the form of an email. Nationwide, millions of dollars have been lost, and the IRS encourages taxpayers to educate themselves on varying IRS related scams, including the IRS Impersonation Phone Scam, by visiting http://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts.
Anyone wondering whether they owe previous years’ federal taxes should call the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Office at (800) 829-1040. Questions about state taxes can be directed to the Montana Department of Revenue at (866) 859-2254.
Consumers should keep in mind that the IRS doesn’t cold-call people and demand payment by phone. People receiving these calls should do the following: 1. Don’t provide any bank account or other personal or financial information to a person or company that you don’t know. 2. Don’t wire money to a person or company you don’t know. 3. Hang up. 4. If you think you owe taxes, call the IRS or the Montana Department of Revenue directly.
