Apparently, scammers gotta scam because they're still at it

Several residents in Greencastle have again complained about unsolicited phone calls from someone claiming to be from the IRS, Greencastle City Police report.

Greencastle taxpayers should understand that their initial contact from the IRS will not be a call from out of the blue, but through official correspondence sent through the mail.

A red flag for these scams are angry, threatening calls from people who say they are from the IRS and demanding immediate payment. Residents should hang up immediately, authorities said.

Additionally, it is important for taxpayers to know that the IRS:

-- 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.

-- Never requests immediate payment over the telephone and will not take enforcement action immediately following a phone conversation.

Taxpayers usually receive prior notification of IRS enforcement action involving IRS tax liens or levies.

Potential phone scam victims may be told that they owe money that must be paid immediately to the IRS or that they are entitled to big refunds. When unsuccessful the first time, sometimes phone scammers call back trying a new strategy.

Other characteristics of these scams include:

-- Scammers using 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 spoofing 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.

Scam victims often report hearing 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, City Police advise:

-- If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. 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 Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484.

If anyone is unsure about unsolicited phone calls they should contact the Greencastle Police Department at 653-2925 and ask to speak to an officer.