Does the IRS leave...

[MarleyKeezy78]

Weird robotic messages Got a automated call this morning from robotic officer Julie Smith letting me know we need our attourny (sp) call her back before they take action  
Pretty sure they would mail us something instead right? The call came in from the District of Clolumbia, really weird.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Scam.

[MarleyKeezy78]

That's what I thought, thanks!

[The Captain]

Absolutely a scam.  I work with the IRS on a regular basis and communications are always initiated by mail.

[Bonny]

Yup, scam.

The IRS takes a looooooooooooooong time to get that point. You'd have a small forest of "Notices" before you'd hear anything about needing legal representation.

[alabamagal]

Sept 9, 2014 10:00:19 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Absolutely a scam.  I work with the IRS on a regular basis and communications are always initiated by mail.

And registered mail if it is really important.

Dealt with the IRS way too much when we owned a business.  They never asked for our attorney.

[The Captain]

Sept 9, 2014 10:01:55 GMT -5 Bonny said:

Yup, scam.

The IRS takes a looooooooooooooong time to get that point. You'd have a small forest of "Notices" before you'd hear anything about needing legal representation.

So Bonnie - you speak from the voice of experience, eh?

[Bonny]

Sept 9, 2014 10:22:26 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Sept 9, 2014 10:01:55 GMT -5 Bonny said:

Yup, scam.

The IRS takes a looooooooooooooong time to get that point. You'd have a small forest of "Notices" before you'd hear anything about needing legal representation.

So Bonnie - you speak from the voice of experience, eh?

Actually I do! I had quite the learning experience in my early 20s. One of the reasons I don't need to revisit those years!

ETA: And as I've found over the years that those "bad" experiences have come in handy later down the road.

I was able to deal with my late mother's IRS issues without panicking.

And I knew instantly that my deadbeat tenants (here) were lying when he said "My wages were garnished and I have no idea why"  My response "You have to open up all those "Notice" envelopes from the IRS."

[Abby Normal]

Scam-  hitting hard in our area.  There was an article in the paper a few weeks back to warn people.

[ArchietheDragon]

www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/fake-irs-collectors-are-calling


Fake IRS collectors are calling
April 7, 2014
by Lisa Lake
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC
This time of year is often taxing for many consumers. Scams aimed at stealing taxpayers’ money make the season more stressful.

The Treasury Inspector General for Taxpayer Administration (TIGTA) warns that crooks posing as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officials are contacting people claiming they owe taxes. The caller demands a prepaid debit card, wire transfer or a credit card number for payment. If the person doesn’t comply, the caller threatens to arrest or deport the target, or take away their driver’s license or business.

Thousands of victims have lost money to these tax scam artists. But there are ways to recognize them and foil their attempts to steal your money.

These scammers often:

call you. But when the IRS contacts people about unpaid taxes, they do it by postal mail, not by phone
use common names and fake IRS badge numbers
know the last four digits of your Social Security number
demand payment via a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. The IRS doesn’t ask for either of these payment methods, nor will they ask for credit card numbers.
rig caller ID information to appear as if the IRS really is calling
send fake emails that look like legitimate IRS correspondence
make a second call claiming to be the police or department of motor vehicles, rigging the caller ID information
To protect yourself from imposters who call, claiming to be from the IRS:

don’t provide any account or other personal information. Hang up the phone.
never wire money to a person or company you don’t know. Once you wire money, you can’t get it back.
if you owe - or think you owe - federal taxes, call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you with your payment questions. You also can visit the IRS website at irs.gov.
if you’ve already paid your taxes, call and report the incident to TIGTA at 800-366-4484.
forward emails from the IRS to [e-mail]. Don’t open any attachments or click on any links in those emails.
file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint. Include “IRS Telephone Scam" in your complaint.

[busymom]

Don't call back. You can report this scam at 1-800-366-4484. Too many people are getting fooled by these crooks, who are now playing hardball to try & steal money from people by threatening them.

[busymom]

Archie, you beat me to it!