The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office continues to receive calls reporting telephone scams involving aggressive and threatening calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents. This activity is expected to increase during the current tax filing season.

Scammers commonly prey upon those that are most vulnerable, such as the elderly, newly arrived immigrants, and those whose first language is not English.

The following information provided by the Internal Revenue Service will help identify fraudulent calls. According to the IRS, there are five things that scammers often do, but the IRS will never do:

• Call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
• Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
• Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
• Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
• Threaten to bring in local police or other law enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

According to the IRS, fraudulent callers often alter caller ID numbers to make it look like the IRS is calling and will identify themselves by using fake names and bogus IRS badge numbers.

Anyone who receives a scam telephone call is encouraged by the IRS to report the incident by calling 800.366.4484.