Aug 13, 2015 2 min read

The stance from the Internal Revenue Service never changed: They won’t contact taxpayers by phone – only by mail – regarding bills and refunds.

Despite that, the Washington County district attorney said he’s been getting a litany of complaints from residents saying they’ve been receiving suspicious phone calls trying to bilk them of cash.

According to the IRS, the organization will never demand immediate payment, and will always offer the opportunity to appeal or question the amount of owed taxes. The agency won’t ask for specific forms of payment, credit or debit card numbers, nor will its agents threaten local police involvement. If these things happen, report the scammers.

“The IRS has a very specific protocol, and I want taxpayers to know how to report these scams,” said District Attorney Gene Vittone.

If a person believes they don’t owe taxes and receives such calls, Vittone said to contact the treasury inspector general for tax administration at 1-800-366-4484 or online at www.tigta.gov. If a person believes they do owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. And if a person believes they’ve been targeted by scammers, contact the Federal Trade Commission and use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” feature at www.ftc.gov, and add “IRS Telephone Scam” into the comments of the complaint.

In Greene County, Waynesburg police reported in June a similar telephone scam was hitting the area. Chief Rob Toth said he received four reports in a week of people receiving calls from someone asking for the taxpayer to send money because of “mistakes on their taxes.” Toth said he hasn’t received any similar reports since June.