Complaints of fake IRS calls spike in state

Wire transfers, gift cards demanded by scammers

The Internal Revenue Service will never call you about your taxes.

The IRS will never call you on the phone to threaten you to pay up or someone will be sent to your door to arrest you.

And the IRS will never ask for payment in iTunes or Google Play gift cards.

It’s unknown whether this scam is actually a moneymaker for con artists but, evidently, they’re dialing a lot of Wisconsin phone numbers because the number of complaints to the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has spiked.

Last month, DATCP averaged seven calls per week to its hotline. But last Friday, the agency received nine calls in one day. That prompted officials to issue a consumer alert to notify the public.

The number of complaints continues to soar this week. On Monday, 10 complaints were phoned into the hotline, five on Tuesday and 32 on Wednesday. DATCP had gotten 10 calls as of 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

Compared to the complaints this week, “last week’s calls were slightly different,” said Jerad Albracht, DATCP senior communications specialist. “They were more aggressive in their demands than we typically see.

“Basically, call recipients were told they had fewer than 24 hours to respond before someone would be sent to their door to arrest them and sometimes only 30 minutes,” Albracht said.

Many of the callers to the hotline were upset about the aggressive tone of the scammers’ demands.

Anyone receiving a phony call should hang up immediately. People can also contact their local law enforcement or DATCP by the consumer hotline, (800) 422-7128 or via email at datcphotline@wi.gov.

Con artists typically tell people to send the money via wire transfer or to go to a retailer to buy prepaid debit cards, iTunes or Google Play gift cards. Then they’re instructed to call the scammers back to tell them the gift or debit card number and PIN.

“That’s dangerous because as soon as you do that, that money is as good as gone,” Albracht said.

One person who contacted DATCP via email Thursday said she had sent $300 but she didn’t give details on how the money was transferred.

The locations of residents complaining

“Basically, call recipients were told they had fewer than 24 hours to respond before someone would be sent to their door to arrest them and sometimes only 30 minutes.” Jerad Albracht, senior communications specialist at the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

about the calls were not compiled, Albracht said. Officials believe the calls are statewide.

Con artists are using a combination of robocalls, live calls and voicemails and quite a few callers are told “cops” will come to get them unless they pay up.

Some version of this scam has been going on for years; sometimes it’s popular during tax season and sometimes it happens during other times, like this summer in Wisconsin.

The IRS uses the U.S. Post Office to contact taxpayers. It never calls people.