B OYNTON B EACH P OLICE D EPARTMENT OFFICE OF MEDIA RELATIONS
100 East Boynton Beach Blvd. Boynton Beach, FL 33425
Jeffrey S. Katz Chief of Police
Phone (561) 742-6191 Fax (561) 742-6185
A CFA Accredited Law Enforcement Agency
Stephanie Slater Public Information Officer SLATERS@BBFL.US (561) 436-4806
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 10, 2014
Police warn public of sophisticated IRS phone scam The caller said he was from the Internal Revenue Service and she owed $5,389.32 in taxes. If she did not pay it immediately, she would go to jail and her house would be taken from her. She was to go to the bank and withdraw $5,000 in cash. She was then to go to CVS and buy 10 Money Pak cards valued at $500 each. The 68-year-old Boynton Beach woman did as she was told and provided the “IRS agent” with the account numbers off all but one of the prepaid debit cards. The woman had fallen victim to a phone scam that has been targeting taxpayers throughout the country. The scam is so sophisticated that the suspects have found a way to make it seem as if they are calling from an actual IRS toll-free number (1-800-829-1040). Boynton Beach Police remind the public that just as law enforcement agencies will never call you to ask for money, the IRS does not request credit card numbers over the phone nor will they ask for a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. Some characteristics of this scam include: Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers; may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security Number; send bogus IRS emails to victims to support their calls. According to the IRS, the agency does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here is what the agency suggests you do: If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-8291040. 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.