March 6, 2017
Contact: Danelle Gittus or Ron Leix, (517) 335-2167
Never Provide Personal Information Over
the Phone
LANSING, Mich. – Aggressive
and threatening phone calls made by criminals impersonating state tax officials
are on the rise in Michigan, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury
(Treasury).
As the individual
income tax season progresses, Treasury typically observes a surge in scam phone
calls where scammers make unsolicited calls claiming to be tax officials and asking
for cash through a wire transfer, prepaid debit card or gift card. Additionally,
the criminals may leave “urgent” callback requests through robocalls or
phishing emails.
“Unfortunately, tax
season brings out criminals who use threats for quick cash payouts or promises
of a big refund to obtain your private information,” said Deputy Treasurer Glenn
White, head of Treasury’s Tax Administration Group. “The Michigan Department of
Treasury doesn’t initially contact taxpayers through the phone. Our first
interaction is generally done by mail.”
Scammers often alter
caller ID numbers to make it look like Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service
or another agency is calling. The callers may use employee titles, a person’s
name, address and other personal information to sound official.
Treasury will never:
- Initiate a phone call
to ask for personal information.
- Call to demand immediate
payment using a specific payment method, such as a prepaid debit card, gift
card or wire transfer. Generally, Treasury will first mail a bill to any
taxpayer who owes taxes.
- Threaten to immediately bring
in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have the taxpayer arrested
for not paying.
- Demand that taxes be paid
without giving the taxpayer the opportunity to question or appeal the amount
owed.
- Ask for credit or debit card
numbers over the phone.
Taxpayers who don’t
owe taxes or don’t think they owe taxes should hang up immediately if they
receive one of these calls. For individuals who owe taxes or think they do,
they can call 517-636-4486 to find out their account balance information.
Taxpayers who have
received a call from a scammer should report the case to the IRS through the web
or by calling 800-366-4484.
To learn more about Michigan's individual income tax, go to www.michigan.gov/incometax.
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