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SWEET VALLEY — If there was one message that tax preparer Russ Belles has for taxpayers concerned about being scammed, it’s that the Internal Revenue Service will never call them on the phone.
“Lately we’ve been getting information that people, especially elderly people, are receiving phone calls indicating that the owe a great deal of money and are in danger of going to jail,”said Belles. “First of all hang up, and more importantly never disclose any information, especially bank information.”
Belles, owner of SBHB, Inc., a tax preparation and accounting service, said the calls are not only annoying but also threatening.
“We received a report just last week of someone impersonating the IRS saying they were going to come to the house and arrest someone if they did not immediately pay a certain amount,” said Belles.
“The IRS has policy and procedures involving documentation. They will send a letter.”
The woman the individual threatened had a relative who was a tax preparer. After being threatened with arrest, she said, “Good, I’ll be waiting for them.”
She never heard another thing.
Other reports
Wendy Saxe, who is a tax preparer at SBHB, said she has received reports that not only have IRS impersonators requested bank information, they have also directed people to buy gift cards and provide those cards’ information over the phone.
“Often those attempting to scam older people can make it look like their calling from Washington, D.C. or New York, when in reality they’re in another country,” Saxe said.
Saxe imagines that some people, intimidated by the threat of legal action, do provide money to those impersonating IRS agents.
“It’s very important to get the information out there to both the elderly and their family,” she said. “Elderly people should not be robbed of their hard earned money.”
Belles said in addition to “over the phone” scams of the elderly, the public should be alert to other types of scams involving taxes, including tax related identity theft.
The public is advised to access the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov, or contact their tax preparer with any concerns about possible scams involving taxes.