Police warn residents of phone scam

EAST HAMPTON — The East Hampton Police Department has received reports from residents that an automated phone system has been leaving messages for resident to call a phone number with an out of state area code, claiming to be the IRS. The recorded message sounds official and states that the victim owes back taxes.

According to the IRS, if there is an issue with federal taxes, you’ll first receive a letter or notice in the mail from the IRS. Don’t fall for scam artists on the internet or over the telephone. Real IRS employees have badge numbers. Ask the caller for his or her badge number, and then call 1-800-829-1040 to confirm it. Sometimes the caller may volunteer a fake badge number before you even ask for one. Victims may be told they owe money to the IRS. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they may be threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes aggressive and insulting.

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here’s what you should do:

⏩ If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue — if there really is such an issue.

⏩ If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you’ve never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats as described above), then call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484.

⏩ If you’ve been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your complaint.

The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels. The IRS also does not ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts. Recipients should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, forward the email to phishing@irs.gov.

To reach the East Hampton Police Department call 860-2679922. Pequot/ Sherwood Day Camp, and a small voluntary team of local residents with the aim of making this event enjoyable for the community. Visit tritownys.org for more information.