JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline) – Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced that his office has received close to 200 complaints in May about scam Internal Revenue Service calls targeting mid-Missouri.
The caller allegedly claims to be with the IRS and states that the consumer owes taxes to the IRS. Additionally, the caller claims that there is a warrant out for the consumer because of the tax debt owed. The caller then threats to file a lawsuit unless the consumer pays off the alleged debt immediately. The attorney general’s office warns that these are fraudulent scams. Koster urges consumers not to give any information to these scammers.
Debt collection scams have been widespread in the past few years, and this is the most recent iteration. Koster’s office notes that scammers are constantly inventing new techniques to fool people into giving personal information or Social Security numbers.
Koster’s office released a set of guidelines to help consumers protect themselves. This includes notes that consumers should never give out personal or financial information over the phone. Additionally, the IRS or any other legitimate government agency would always send notice via a bill in the mail rather than a phone call.