The Seymour Police Department has received complaints relating to telephone scams from individuals claiming to be from the IRS.
The caller can be particularly aggressive and victims are threatened with arrest.
Callers are frequently insulting or hostile — apparently to scare their potential victims.
With one of the recent calls, the caller used the name of a Seymour Police Official. Be Aware: The Seymour Police Department does not collect revenue for any agencies.
These callers use “spoofing” devices which hide their telephone number, they also can replace their number with a real telephone number from the IRS or Local Police Department.
The IRS will always send taxpayers a written notification of any tax due via the U.S. mail. The IRS never asks for credit card, debit card or prepaid card information over the telephone.
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.
Residents should be aware that there are other unrelated scams (such as a lottery sweepstakes) and solicitations (such as debt relief) and should never give credit card, debit card or prepaid card information over the telephone when they are contacted by unknown individual(s).
If you receive one of these calls: DO NOT SEND PAYMENT OR GIVE ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION.
Contact Inspector Joseph DeNigris, 203 – 881-7624, to document the incident.
Visit the IRS website, IRS.gov, for more on what you should do to avoid becoming a victim.
Complaints can also be filed online with the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov. Mention “IRS Telephone Scam” in the complaint’s comment section.
