Public Safety
IRS Logo 03-19-17

Income Tax-Related Identity Theft Scams Down But Not Out: How to Protect Yourself

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The good news is that ID theft scams are less prevalent than they were in previous years. The bad news is that there’s plenty still around. Both the Internal Revenue Service and Better Business Bureau have (overlapping) advice about protecting yourself from scammers who want your personal information for identity theft and tax fraud. “Everyone should guard their personal information by protecting their computers and using extreme caution when viewing emails or getting surprise phone calls,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said. “We also encourage people to share this information with their friends and family,” he said.

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Police

Elderly Woman Loses $1,000 to Thief in IRS Phone Scam

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A 74-year-old woman who works in Darien got a phone call from a man pretending to be an IRS agent, and within hours $1,000 was taken from her. The case involves a common telephone scam in which the caller is told to immediately pay money through a wire transfer or gift card or some dire result will take place — in this case, that she would be arrested for lack of a tax payment claimed by the scammer. Elderly people tend to be victimized by the scam more than others. Darien police gave this account of the matter:

The woman, a New Haven resident who works at a house in Darien, had received a voice mail message about a month before from a “Paul Brown” who identified himself as an Internal Revenue Service official. He claimed in the voice mail that the victim owed the government money and he told her to call 509-592-9796.

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IRS Phone Scammers Recently Calling Darien Residents

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After a number of town residents in the past couple of weeks received phone calls from scammers attempting to convince them they were collecting money for the IRS, Darien police recently put this July 27 post at the top of their Facebook timeline:

Darien residents continue to receive phone calls, both automated and in person, that are active scams.  The Internal Revenue Service has recently issued a consumer alert providing taxpayers with additional tips to protect themselves from telephone scam artists calling and pretending to be with the IRS. These callers may demand money or may say you have a refund due and try to trick you into sharing private information. These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They may know a lot about you, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling. They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers.

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Darien Woman Loses $2,400 to Phone Scammer Who Said She Owed IRS

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A man saying he was from the Internal Revenue Service called a 54-year-0ld Darien woman to demand thousands of dollars of what he said was her unpaid tax bill, and the scam worked — she lost $2,400. Darien police said the scam happened this way:

On July 5, the woman received a voicemail message from someone purporting to be “Peter Morris” from the IRS, asking her to call him back at (202) 657-4773. Police said that according to an Internet search, the name “Peter Morris” had been used in previous phone scams. The man had an accident from the Indian subcontinent, the woman later told police. She called back the number and “Peter Morris” told her she owed $2,359 in taxes, and she would either be arested or subject to a federal lawsuit if she didn’t pay it immediately. He stayed on the phone with her and told her not to hang up but to go to her bank, withdraw the money, then go to a Walmart store to send a Moneygram.

Public Safety
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Darien Police: How to Avoid Being Victimized by IRS Phone Scams

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Darien police continue to warn residents about IRS phone scams and say Darienites are still getting scam phone calls. 

Here’s a statement police posted Wednesday morning on the department’s Facebook page:

Darien residents continue to receive phone calls, both automated and in person, that are active scams.  The Internal Revenue Service has recently issued a consumer alert providing taxpayers with additional tips to protect themselves from telephone scam artists calling and pretending to be with the IRS. These callers may demand money or may say you have a refund due and try to trick you into sharing private information. These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They may know a lot about you, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling. They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers.