It is tax season and the scammers are using that as a reason to take your money from you. The Carson City Sheriff’s Office has had a sharp increase of citizens receiving phone calls from someone claiming to be with the IRS.
The persons placing those phone calls are telling people they are collecting for money owed to the IRS. In another twist the callers are saying they are from the U.S. Treasury and that it is in regard to an action to appear before a magistrate.
The scammers will tell people that in order to prevent something happening or to get your account current to send them money. They will try and get you to give them a credit card number, pay using a money card or cash transfer.
This is another version of the telephone scams many businesses and people have received in recent months where the person claims to be an employee with a utility company. In those phone calls the person claims to be with the power or gas company and their account is past due. The person will tell people that if they don’t pay them over the phone right away their service will be turned off.
The public should be aware that government and the utility companies will not call you to solicit payments in that fashion. Do not give your credit card numbers, PIN numbers, or passwords to anyone over the phone who simply is asking for it.