Vermonters continue to fall for IRS scam

(WCAX)
Published: Sep. 20, 2017 at 5:23 PM EDT
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Each week Vermonters get calls from scammers pretending to be the Internal Revenue Service to try to steal personal information or money. The Vermont Consumer Assistance Program says the IRS scams are the most common ones they hear about, and each year some Vermonters fall victim to it.

"I had a second of panic when I first got this," said Stefanie Waite, re-playing the message she got on her phone.

Waite recently got a phone call from a robotic voice claiming to be the IRS and threatening her with arrest. "I found it unusual that the IRS had my cell phone number and would leave me a voicemail saying I was under arrest by the IRS," she said.

The Burlington mom says she was immediately suspicious and went to the IRS website to check. "The first thing that comes up is information about the scam," she said.

If this sounds familiar, that's because many Vermonters get calls like this too -- someone claiming to be from the IRS and telling you that you have to call them back or you'll be arrested and your property seized. That's a lie.

"When you call them back at the number provided they pretend to be the IRS and will often try to convince you to make some type of immediate payment, often through wiring money or purchasing prepaid gift cards. They'll often ask you for your social security number," said Lauren Jandl with the Vermont Consumer Assistance Program.

The Consumer Assistance Program says you should not call them back. But we wanted to know what would happen if we did, and who we would get on the other side of the line. That number was disconnected, which the Consumer Assistance Program says is common because scammers switch numbers constantly. They say you should be immediately suspicious of any phone call. "If the IRS ever needed to reach you, they would send you information in writing through the mail. They would not first call you and threaten you or harass you," Jandl said.

If you get a call -- ignore it. And if you are concerned, look up the number for the IRS and call them yourself. Or the Consumer Assistance Program says they can help walk you through the steps.