Fayette Sheriff warns of IRS phone scam

PhoneScamGraphic

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — Fayette County Sheriff Mike Fridley announced Tuesday his department has received numerous reports of a new phone scam.

Fridley said residents have reported they were contacted by one or multiple individuals claiming to be from the IRS. The calls were received from several different phone numbers. The caller says the resident owes back taxes from previous years and they must be paid.

Some also report the callers will then ask for credit and/or debit card information to pay the delinquent taxes. The caller will often threaten to arrest the resident if they do not pay.

Fridley advised phone calls from anyone claiming to be the IRS should automatically be suspicious.

“The IRS does not initiate telephone calls of this nature in an effort to collect past-due taxes. If the IRS believes that you owe additional taxes for a given period, they will communicate with you through the U.S. Mail and provide documentation to support this claim of unpaid taxes. You should never release any personal information, including your Social Security number or birth date to anyone over the telephone.”

Anyone who receives this or a similar call should hang up and call their local law enforcement agency immediately.