WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today warned consumers about a sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, throughout the country.

Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting.

“This scam has hit taxpayers in nearly every state in the country.  We want to educate taxpayers so they can help protect themselves.  Rest assured, we do not and will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone, nor request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer,” says IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel. “If someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from the IRS and threatens police arrest, deportation or license revocation if you don’t pay immediately, that is a sign that it really isn’t the IRS calling.” Werfel noted that the first IRS contact with taxpayers on a tax issue is likely to occur via mail

Other characteristics of this scam include:

• Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.
• Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security Number.
• Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it’s the IRS calling.
• Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls.
• Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.
• After threatening victims with jail time or driver’s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim.

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here’s what you should do:

• If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue – if there really is such an issue.
• If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you’ve never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats as described above), then call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1.800.366.4484.
• If you’ve been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov.  Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your complaint.

Taxpayers should be aware that there are other unrelated scams (such as a lottery sweepstakes) and solicitations (such as debt relief) that fraudulently claim to be from the IRS.

The IRS encourages taxpayers to be vigilant against phone and email scams that use the IRS as a lure. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information.  This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels. The IRS also does not ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts. Recipients should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, forward the e-mail tophishing@irs.gov.

More information on how to report phishing scams involving the IRS is available on the genuine IRS website, IRS.gov.

WASHINGTON ― Internal Revenue Service Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel today announced that Peggy Sherry, a top official at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been named the next IRS Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support.

“Peggy brings a strong track record and a diverse set of skills that will help her with this critical IRS leadership position,” Werfel said. “Her expertise inside different government agencies on a wide portfolio of projects, coupled with her background in accounting, will work well heading the Operations Support organization.”

Sherry, who starts in her new role on Nov. 4, will replace the current Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support, Beth Tucker, who retired from the IRS at the end of September.

As Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support, Sherry will direct IRS’ support-focused functions, which encompass about 11,500 employees and include: the Chief Financial Officer; Human Capital Office; Information Technology; Privacy, Governmental Liaison and Disclosure, which oversees  protecting sensitive taxpayer information; and Agency-Wide Shared Services, which comprises procurement, real estate, physical security and employee assistance.

Sherry has served as the Chief Financial Officer at DHS since April 2012, and was Acting CFO and Deputy CFO at DHS from 2008 to 2012. She formerly served as Deputy CFO and Financial Reports Supervisor for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and as an Assistant Director at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

The IRS Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support is a career civil service position. The position, along with the Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement, are the top two positions at the IRS under the IRS Commissioner.