Police: Watch Out For This IRS Scam

Tax time is here, and as CT and NY residents anxiously await their tax return to buy a new guitar  plan a vacation or pay down a credit card, the Danbury and Ridgefield police have both issued warnings about an increase in phone scams.

According to the police, callers are pretending to be from the IRS and claiming that there is a warrant for their arrest. By paying immediately, the victim can avoid the "warrant."

An important thing to remember is that the IRS's initial contact will NEVER be via the phone. All initial contact from the IRS is by the mail.

Another quick tip off is that the scammers will require you to use a pre-paid debit card or iTunes gift cards to pay down the "debt." Think about that for a second. The IRS already has the collected works of Zeppelin, Skynyrd and even Rihanna on their iPhone. They don't need iTunes cards.

The IRS will also never demand that you pay taxes without the opportunity for a legal appeal process, ask for credit card our debit card numbers over the phone, or threaten to being in the police to arrest you for non-payment.

If you get a call from these scammers, don't give out any personal information and report the call to the treasury at 1-800-366-4484 or by filling out this form.