Sheriff warns of scam involving tax debt, gift cards

Post: If residents are concerned, they can call a dispatcher.

Read the Cherokee County sheriff ’s lips: It’s a scam if anyone calls requesting gift cards to satisfy a tax debt.

Think people aren’t doing it? Think again.

“This SCAM is still occurring and some still believe it is legitimate,” a Cherokee County Sheriff ’s Office Facebook post read.

In April and again in June, federal authorities warned consumers of the scam, which usually involves a request for an iTunes gift card from someone impersonating an employee from the Internal Revenue Service, Treasury Department or a law enforcement agency.

“As a reminder, any call requesting that taxpayers place funds on an iTunes Gift Card or other gift cards to pay taxes and fees is an indicator of fraudulent activity,” the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a June alert posted on its website. The administration was established under the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 to provide independent oversight of IRS activities.

“No legitimate United States Treasury or IRS official will demand that payments via Western Union, MoneyGram, bank wire transfers, or bank deposits be made into another person’s account for any debt to the IRS or Treasury,” the administration said.

Ditto, the Cherokee sheriff ’s office said.

In a Facebook post in capital letters, Cherokee officials said: “NEITHER THE CHEROKEE SHERIFF’S OFFICE NOR THE I.R.S. WILL CALL YOU AND TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE A WARRANT OR TELL YOU THAT YOU OWE BACK TAXES AND THAT YOU CAN AVOID ARREST BY DRIVING TO A LOCAL STORE AND PURCHASING GIFT CARDS. EVER.

If residents are scared or concerned, they can call 911, and a dispatcher will confirm that the call is a scam, according to the post.