IRS Scam targeting region

Telephone scammers are targeting the area once again, this time claiming to be from the IRS and demanding payment of past due taxes and threatening possible legal action.

Victims report the callers claim to be “officers” with the IRS and threaten jail time if the amount is not paid immediately.

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway issued an alert concerning the scam, warning citizens of the possibility of the fraudulent calls.

Conway reminds citizens that the IRS does not make first contact with a client over the phone, and they never ask for credit card information or demand taxpayers use a specific method to pay tax obligations.

Additionally, General Conway and his Officer of Consumer Protection recommend the following tips for consumers:

•Don’t provide any account or other personal information. Hang up the phone.

•Never wire money to a person you don’t know. Once you wire money, particularly to a destination out of state or out of county, it is very difficult or impossible to recover the funds.

•If you owe – or think you owe – federal taxes, call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you with your payment questions.

•Forward emails from the IRS to phishing@irs.gov.

•Report IRS impersonator calls to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at www.tigta.gov or by calling 800-366-4484.