According to a press release, a local resident has informed the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office that they received a telephone call today from a person who was pretending to work for the Internal Revenue Service.
“The unknown caller told the person that if they did not pay the taxes they owed, local law enforcement would be sent out to arrest them,” the release says. “This is the same scam that has been reported to us the past several years around tax season and continues to be a nationwide issue.”
According to Bowie County Sheriff’s office this year the calls are showing up as coming from 206.201.2540. The Bowie County Sheriff’s Office reminds you to never give out personal or payment information over the telephone to anyone you do not know or did not initiate contact with.
Note that the IRS will never:
- 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
