Fairfax County Police Warn: Don't Fall for IRS Scam

Fairfax County Police said Tuesday they are seeing a resurgence of a phony IRS employee scam and urge Fairfax County residents to share the information below with family, friends and colleagues to avoid being duped. Police have received dozens of complaints in recent weeks, they said. 

Some of what you might hear, if a scammer calls you:

“Your driver’s license has been suspended. You will be arrested. You will be deported. We are on our way to your home right now.” 

These are just a few of the many threats that scammers are making against hundreds of Fairfax County residents over the past several weeks. Police warn the public not to fall prey to these scammers and to notify police of these criminal incidents.

These telephone scammers are described as demanding, aggressive, threatening, and easily angered when callers don’t immediately agree to their demands of “overdue tax balances.” 

Some complainants have described the suspect’s as having a heavy accent. Typically, callers demand between $4,000-$6,000 in immediate payment of unpaid tax bills. These scams are sophisticated and involve false names, numbers and “IRS” badge numbers. Suspects often continue to call and harass the recipient.

Police urge residents to:
• Contact IRS is you feel there is any discrepancy with your tax bills.
• Use these numbers to contact IRS if you feel you are being scammed:http://www.irs.gov/uac/Telephone-Assistance
• Be skeptical if someone asks/demands you owe taxes and must pay with a Green Dot Moneypack.
• Report suspicious or harassing calls to police online at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/120413citizenreportingsystem.htm
• Remember, once money has been wired/sent, it is impossible to recover.
• More information on common scams may be found at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/financialcrimes/commonscams.htm