I am a CPA and very much familiar with the IRS procedures when its comes to IRS audits and calls. Today, I got a voicemail from someone ‘representing the IRS” and it’s about the IRS is filing a lawsuit against me and I have to call back immediately. I looked at the phone number, it shows +1 (314) 670-4044, a number appears from New York city. I knew immediately – it’s a scam call. However, out of curiosity, I called the number back and almost immediately, someone with an accent on the other end picked up the call (this never happened with all my previous calls with the IRS – I always had to wait). The person on the other end stated that he works for the International Revenue Services and his name is “Officer” xxx and with a “Batch” number “GSTxxxxxx”. First of all, during my previous calls with the IRS (and with real agents), they always referred themselves as ‘”Agent” not “Officer” and their number always stated with “1000” and not with letters. This immediately told me that the person on the other line was not an IRS agent. Without further reviewing any of my personal information (not even my name), the person on the other end with an accent told me that what my name was and kept pushing me for the last four digits of my social security number. He told me that I have invaded taxes for the past few years (from 2012 to 2016) and two certified letters addressed to me have been returned to the IRS headquarter in Washington DC. When I told him that I would not give him any of my personal information and would call the IRS direct line instead, the person on the phone threatened me saying that within 45 hours, the IRS would take away my assets (what a joke)!
Confirmed with a real IRS agent, the IRS rarely calls the taxpayer and if they do, they will not ask for personal information. The IRS headquarter in Washington DC would not send a letter to a normal taxpayer (unless you are a super high profile individual and needs special attention). The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration is the department who investigates the scam calls and mails and a report can be filed online with the TIGTA (www.tigta.gov). If you receive an IRS call, you should contact your CPA and not to return the call. If you want us to share more of our experience, please feel free to contact us.
