(631) 402-5144

Here is what to do if you get one of these phone calls:

-Do not call back or reply to a text message or e-mail.
-If they catch you unawares and you answer the phone, hang up.
-If for some reason you have stayed on the phone with them long enough for them to threaten to call the police and have you arrested, feel free to say, "please do send the police."
-Report calls claiming to be from the IRS or the Treasury Department to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484 or at www.tigta.gov. This is an impersonation scam. The IRS says on its website that it "never asks for credit card, debit card or prepaid card information over the telephone, never insists that taxpayers use a specific payment method to pay tax obligations, and never requests immediate payment over the telephone and will not take enforcement action immediately following a phone conversation."

-If you believe you have a legitimate tax payment issue, call the IRS at 1 (800) 829-1040. Staff members there can connect you with someone who can help you work out a resolution.
-File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
-Depending on your state, you may also be able to report the crime to your state's consumer protection unit, which may be a section of the state's attorney general's office.

(Thanks to Hazel Heckers, a victim advocate in the I.D. Theft/Fraud Investigation Unit of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, for contributing to these tips.)

IRS scam. I kept calling until finally able to speak with a goon. I was able to irritate him enough that profanities began to fly. Sounds very official, isn't it?? Tell all your friends to either block this number or to be ready to have some fun with these "agents". LOL!