CONSUMER FIRST ALERT: IRS and Social Security scams increasing

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – A Consumer First Alert to help you avoid potentially dangerous and costly scams claiming to be from the IRS or Social Security.

The IRS has serious warnings about increasing scam attempts.

It’s tax season crunch time. April 18 is Tax Day, and scammers are using this time to their advantage. The IRS is reporting increased impersonation calls and messages.

It’s on their “Dirty Dozen” list of worst tax scams, so we want to walk you through the most recent tax scam calls, emails and texts.

One scam works like this: A caller claiming to be the IRS says you owe back taxes and need to pay immediately, using cryptocurrency, or you’ll be arrested.

The IRS also warns about email and text scams.

A message about refunds or tax issues tries to trick taxpayers. They’ll try to steal your information or your refund.

There’s also a scam offering help setting up an online account.

These unexpected messages can be a tax season trap.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel says, “With people anxious to receive the latest information about a refund or other tax issue, scammers will regularly pose as the IRS, a state tax agency, or others in the tax industry in emails and texts.”

It’s important to remember these facts:

The IRS will generally first contact people by postal mail — not by phone — about tax-related matters
If the IRS does call, it will not insist on payment using gift cards, prepaid debit card, money order, wire transfer or cryptocurrency
The IRS will never request personal or financial information by email, text, letter or any social media

RELATED LINK: IRS Scam Resources

RELATED LINK: Report crime and misconduct to the IRS

We also have a Consumer First Alert about Social Security scam calls.

The Markesan Police Department in Green Lake County put a warning on Facebook. It had reports from several people who were called by scammers claiming to be with the Social Security Administration.

The scammer says there’s been suspicious activity with your Social Security and they need to ask you some questions “to help you.”

The phone calls appeared to come from a local number — in these cases, Ripon or Markesan — but the number could be faked, or “spoofed.”

Officials say this is a scam. You should hang up.

If you wonder how they got your number to call or text you, according to the call-blocking app Robokiller, scammers make hundreds of millions of scam calls using what they call a “spray and pray” method, blasting out robocalls to area codes with older populations hoping someone answers. They’ll use Caller ID spoofing to make the calls appear to be local or from a government agency.

Hang up.

Ignore their message.

Spread the word about these illegal calls so people who haven’t seen our Consumer First Alert still know about it, and if you’re a victim, report it.

RELATED LINK: Report a Social Security-related scam