Sheriff Warns of IRS Phone Scam

Scammers are targeting St. Mary’s County residents with telephone calls during which they claim to be from the Internal Revenue Service. The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office has released an advisory to citizens to increase awareness of the phone scam.

The advisory release states that the callers claim to be IRS agents or law enforcement officials collecting debts, but are in fact trying to extort money from the victims. The sheriff’s office said the concern is that the calls will increase as the April tax deadline approaches.

The release said the callers tell victims they have overdue taxes and will demand the bill be paid immediately. The scammer tells the victim that he or she can pay the overdue bill either through a wire transfer or via a prepaid debit card. If the person refuses to pay, the scammer often threatens arrest or suspension of the person’s driver’s license. Some of these callers may actually “spoof” the phone number of the IRS or local law enforcement, so they appear legitimate because the caller ID will show IRS or law enforcement. The caller may even make himself appear more legitimate by providing personal information obtained from public sources or social media.

Some warning signs may be:

• Demanding that the payment be made immediately
• Agreeing to work secretly to avoid embarrassment
• Telling the victim to use third parties or unconventional methods of payment like gift cards

Anyone who has received phone scam calls can report them to the Treasury Inspector General Administration through its IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting web page.

The IRS has information on its website that can help citizens protect themselves from tax scams of all kinds. Anyone who has questions or has been the victim of a scam can the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office at 301-475-8008.

To learn more about Lexington Park, visit the St. Mary’s County Community Development Corporation’s Leader member page.

St. Mary’s County Community Development Corporation

46940 South Shangri-La Drive, Suite 7

Lexington Park, MD 20653

301-863-7700