April is Financial Literacy Month and IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office is bringing awareness to imposter scams, which according to the Federal Trade Commission was the number one fraud category in 2023.

“With the end of the 2024 tax season, we want to make taxpayers aware that scammers posing as IRS personnel are increasing their phone calls to potential victims stating they owe taxes and face arrest if not paid,” said Special Agent In Charge, Demetrius Hardeman, IRS:CI Atlanta Field Office. “It is important that people know that the IRS will not call them to demand immediate payment, nor will it call about taxes owed without first mailing the person a bill.”

In addition to phone calls, scams involving the impersonation of the IRS usually take the form of e-mails, tweets, or other online messages to taxpayers. The FTC released data in February 2024 showing that consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud last year. According to the FTC, imposter scams lost victims $2.7 billion to criminals.

Taxpayers are advised to follow the tips below should they be contacted by a suspected scammer:

 

Phone calls

• Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.

• Contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to report the IRS impersonation scam call.

• Report the caller ID and callback number to the IRS by sending it to phishing@irs.gov. The subject line should include “IRS Phone Scam.”

• Report the call to the Federal Trade Commission.

 

Receiving email claiming to be from the IRS:

• Don’t reply.

• Don’t open any attachments. They can contain malicious code that may infect your computer or mobile phone.

• Don’t click on any links. Visit our identity protection page if you clicked on links in a suspicious email or website and entered confidential information.

• Send the full email headers or forward the email as-is to phishing@irs.gov. Don’t forward screenshots or scanned images of emails because this removes valuable information.

• Delete the original email.

CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. Atlanta Field Office covers the states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. You can reach the Atlanta Field Office at atlantafieldoffice@ci.irs.gov