Sheriff warns of phone scammer pretending to work for the IRS

The Bowie County Sheriff ’s Office has received some telephone calls recently from a person who was pretending to work for the Internal Revenue Service.

The unknown caller told the person that if they did not pay the taxes they owed, local law enforcement would be sent out to arrest them. This is the same scam that has been reported to local law enforcement the past several years and continues to be a nationwide issue.

This time the calls are showing up as coming from the number 347-394-1613. The Bowie County Sheriff’s Office reminds residents to never give out personal or payment information over the telephone to anyone you do not know or did not initiate contact with. Below is a list of notes from the IRS website concerning how they will contact you about payment for taxes, a link to their tax scams page and a link to the Treasury website where you can report receiving a telephone call from someone impersonating an IRS agent.

Note that the IRS will never:

Call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.

Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.

Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.

Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

Threaten to bring in local police or other law enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.