In a "sophisticated phone scam," fraudsters are telling consumers they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer, the Internal Revenue Service said last week.
The IRS warned consumers that the scam is hitting "nearly every state in the country."
"If someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from the IRS and threatens police arrest, deportation or license revocation if you don't pay immediately, that is a sign that it really isn't the IRS calling." Acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a news release.
The IRS noted that the first IRS contact on a tax issue is likely to occur via mail.
If you've been the target of this scam, the IRS recommends contacting the Federal Trade Commission using their "FTC Complaint Assistant", and add "IRS telephone scam" in the comments of the complaint.
