PHOENIX — Telephone scammers posing as IRS agents are back with a vengeance, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Approximately 70 Arizona taxpayers filed complaints in recent weeks about phony IRS agents demanding money. The surge in complaints follows a similar spike during tax season earlier this year, the agency says.
Law-enforcement officials see a recurring pattern. The IRS telephone scam has intensified across Arizona once or twice a year for the past several years.
The scammers mainly target older adults, particularly those in the Sun City area, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
Scammers identify themselves as agents for the Internal Revenue Service or the U.S. Department of the Treasury and demand money.
“These con artists are using scare tactics to rip off some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a written statement. “Arizonans need to remember the IRS will never call you and demand immediate payment.”
The phone hustlers are using aggressive tactics this time.
Victims report that scammers call them three to four times a day. They claim warrants have been issued for people’s arrests based on audits of taxes filed from 2012 to 2013.
Other victims report that scammers claim people have committed crimes and need to make payments to avoid arrests, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
In either scenario, the fake agents instruct victims to make immediate payments using MoneyGram or Western Union.
“In some cases, consumers have fallen for the IRS scam, because they are undergoing an IRS audit and when the call is received, consumers are not able to recognize the differences between the scammer and the IRS,” according to the agency.
“It’s terrible that these thieves and criminals are targeting seniors and the vulnerable population to take advantage of them. There really is no better word than ‘despicable’ to describe that behavior,” said Glen Spencer, benefits assistance program director for the Maricopa County chapter of the nonprofit Area Agency on Aging.
Hoaxers regularly pose as agents for the IRS, Medicare, the Social Security Administration and other government agencies to gain access to seniors’ savings, he said.
“You almost have to be advance-trained psychologically to be prepared for something like this,” he said. “Otherwise, you can get caught up in the moment and start giving out information to somebody who otherwise sounds very nice and professional on the other end of the phone.”
