Boulder District Attorney warns residents of sudden increase in IRS scam calls
(Boulder County, Colo.) -- The Community Protection Division of the District Attorney's Office is receiving numerous complaints from local residents who have recently been on the receiving end of a wave of bogus IRS calls.
The calls are (supposedly) originating from the same numbers: (202) 657-5811 and (415) 251-4603. The Sheriff's Office has advised that these numbers are undoubtedly false. The caller threatens imminent legal action, and jail time if the recipient of the call does not purchase Best Buy or other gift cards.
These calls are STILL the most prevalent type of phone frauds in the County. The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office continues to hear about residents falling for the scam. Only a few minutes before sending this alert, the Sheriff's Office reported an incident where a resident gave $10K in Best Buy gift cards to the scammers.
There is little that local law enforcement can do about these pernicious crimes other than warn people about surges in the numbers of scam calls.
Who investigates this fraud? The U.S. Treasury’s Inspector General for Tax Administration
(TIGTA) is working on the issue. You are asked to file a complaint at www.tigta.gov or at the Federal Trade Commission
at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov.
Advice from the District Attorney's Office: Do not answer the phone if you don't know the number, and if a caller claims to be from the IRS, HANG UP THE PHONE.
Remember,
the IRS will NEVER:
1) Call to verify tax filings or taxes owed
without first having mailed you a bill;
2) Demand that you pay taxes without giving you
the opportunity to question the debt;
3)
Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid
debit card; 4) Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone; or
5)
Threaten to bring in police or other law-enforcement groups to have you
arrested.
For further information, or to report a fraud, contact the Community Protection Division at 303 441 3700.
|
