Federal Trade Commission warns of circulating “tax assistance” scam

SUNDANCE (WNE) — The Federal Trade Commission is warning of a wave of phone scams in which citizens are called by a scammer who claims they owe back taxes and offers to help fix the issue.

Anyone who receives a call of this nature should immediately hang up, the FTC advises.

The calls do not come from the IRS, but from an official-sounding name such as “Tax Resolution Oversight Department” or “Tax Mediation and Resolution Agency.” The caller states that the party has not paid his taxes and offers to connect him with a “tax resolution officer” to do a “red flag check” on his credit and apply for an “IRS liability reduction program.”

The FTC warns that these are not real agencies or programs. 

The aim of the scam is to obtain individuals’ personal information, such as social security number, or collect a fee that the scammer claims is for tax debt relief but does not actually help.

Be aware that those who owe back taxes will be contacted by the IRS by mail, not by phone.

The FTC advises never giving personal or financial information to an unexpected caller and contacting the IRS directly for information about tax issues, using a phone number from the IRS website.