June: 2018
Consumer Alerts on Tax Scams
Note that the IRS: WILL NEVER:
Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying. Call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. (Generally, the IRS will first mail you a bill if you owe any taxes)
Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
For more information on tax scams, please see Tax Scams/ Consumer Alerts. For more information on phishing scams, please see Suspicious-Mails and Identity Theft.
If a caller uses one of the above methods of collection, it is not the IRS.
Private Debt Collection
The IRS began a new private collection program of certain overdue federal tax debts selecting four contractors to implement it. The groups are: CBE Group of Cedar Falls, Iowa; Conserve of Fairport, N.Y.: Performant of Livermore, Calif,; and Pioneer of Horseheads, N.Y. The taxpayer’s account will only be assigned to one of these agencies, never to all four, No other private group is authorized to represent the IRS.
The IRS will always notify a taxpayer before transferring their account to a private collection agency (PCA). The IRS will send a letter to the taxpayer and their tax representative informing them that their account is being assigned to PCA and given the name and contact information for the PCA. This mailing will include a copy of Publication 4518, What You Can Expect When the IRS Assigns Your Account to a Private Collection Agency.
