Tax Time: Beware of Scammers

02/10/2016
A new scam targeting taxpayers has emerged in Florida under which con artists, posing as Internal Revenue Agents, are calling and telling taxpayers they owe taxes and threaten to arrest you if you do not pay the tax immediately with a prepaid debit card, credit card or wire money immediately to satisfy the tax debt.

Callers tend to be sophisticated and well-informed with some knowledge about you and, and they can rig caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling.

Unfortunately, over the last several weeks, at least three individuals in the Gulf Breeze/Pensacola area have been victimized by this scam and have lost significant money to the scammers.

These callers are professional thieves and are very convincing, but DO NOT FALL FOR THIS SCAM. The Internal Revenue Service does not collect past due taxes like this. In most cases, the IRS will notify you by mail if there are delinquent taxes. At this time, the IRS does not use private debt collectors to collect taxes and does not ask taxpayers over the phone to pay with prepaid debit cards, credit cards or wire transfers.

If you receive a call from an IRS representative requesting immediate payment, DO NOT MAKE THE PAYMENT. You need to immediately call the local police and report the call and I would recommend you go to your local IRS office to report the phone call and inquire about the status of your tax history.

You pay enough taxes already and work hard for your money so be very careful when someone tries to get money from you in a pressurized manner. If you have any questions let the professionals at Lewis & Jurnovoy, PA assist you. We have offices in Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, Crestview, and Panama City and are ready to assist you.