Tax Law and News Latest Taxpayer Scam Involves Bogus Certified Letters Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Written by Intuit Accountants Team Modified Oct 16, 2017 1 min read Tax season may be over, but the threat and fear of IRS scams are still very real. The latest one involves scam artists impersonating IRS representatives who call and threaten arrest if the taxpayer on the other line doesn’t provide a prepaid debit card for payment. The thief claims that the payment will be processed through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, but the payment actually goes straight to the scammer. The scammer will try to convince the taxpayer that two certified letters were mailed, but returned as undeliverable. As a result, scammers are telling taxpayers they must take action and pay right away, without contacting a legal team or the local IRS office until after the tax payment goes through. Of course, none of this is true. In fact, it’s very important to tell your clients that the IRS would never threaten arrest, call anyone for immediate payment, or even ask for a credit or debit card by phone. As always, inform your clients that they must be very diligent and aware of these scams sweeping across the country. The scams are not likely to go away, but whenever in doubt, anyone can contact the IRS at 800-829-1040, view tax account information online, review payment options or look at the Tax Scams and Consumer Alerts IRS page. Here’s the IRS news release on this scam with more details. Previous Post Talking Tax Reform: A Three-Part Series on Tax Reform for… Next Post IRS Reopening Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) System Written by Intuit Accountants Team The Intuit® Accountants team provides ProConnect™ Tax, Lacerte® Tax, ProSeries® Tax, and add-on software and services to enable workflow for its customers. Visit us at https://proconnect.intuit.com, or follow us on Twitter @IntuitAccts. More from Intuit Accountants Team Comments are closed. Browse Related Articles Tax Law and News IRS Releases More Details About Latest Taxpayer Scam Tax Law and News What happens when clients receive IRS letters Tax Law and News IRS Continues to Warn Tax Pros and Taxpayers About New … Tax Law and News IRS “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams for 202… Tax Law and News Watch out for “new client” email scam Tax Law and News What your clients should do if they get an identity the… Tax Law and News Knowing how the IRS contacts taxpayers can help keep yo… Tax Law and News IRS Encourages Taxpayers to Renew ITINs; Delays Expecte… Tax Law and News Understanding Common IRS Notices Tax Law and News IRS Urges Public to Stay Alert for Scam Phone Calls