WASHINGTON — Crooks who are posing as the IRS are so convincing that victims presumably being pumped for personal information have been sending the IRS iTunes gift cards.
“We’re looking into the matter right now,” IRS spokeswoman Cecilia Barreda said. “I don’t have specifics about their exact tactics.”
Barreda declined to specify how many gift cards have been received at IRS headquarters in D.C., but acknowledged they began showing up recently.
“Scammers are always looking for new ways to get people to provide their information,” Barreda said. “It just appears to be a new twist on a scam.”
The IRS, generally, will use the U.S. Postal Service to contact people with outstanding bills; it will never demand payment without giving people the opportunity to question or appeal what they owe, and will not threaten to have people arrested for nonpayment.
“We always urge people that if there’s any doubt in their mind that they owe any money to the IRS to not provide any information. Hang up, call the IRS directly and get information about your personal tax situation,” Barreda said.
Just so it’s perfectly clear, Barreda added, “We are not going to ask for credit card or debit card numbers over the phone.”
