The latest IRS telephone scam involves taxpayers receiving calls from criminals who are claiming to need to collect taxes with demands for this payment to be made with a pre-paid gift card. These criminals are able to fake the IRS phone number that shows on taxpayers’ caller id devices and often persuade victims to check the number as a way to verify its validity. They often threaten their targets with arrest or jail time to intimidate them.

It is highly unusual for people to actually receive a call from the IRS, and in the unlikely event that you do receive one, an IRS agent will never threaten you or demand any specific type of payment. Typical communications from the IRS are via the U.S. Postal Service.

If you have any doubts at all about the legitimacy of a telephone call or message, assume it is a scam, and contact the IRS directly to have the issue resolved and verified. Do not share any of your personal information over the phone unless you are absolutely certain you are communicating with a legitimate IRS representative. The best way to communicate with the IRS is usually online or by mail, and you can also get information about reaching your local IRS office at:

Contact Your Local IRS Office.

If you have been contacted, and believe it is a scam, you can report the IRS phone scam or any IRS impersonation scam to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at its IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting site and to the IRS by emailing phishing@irs.gov using the subject line, “IRS Phone Scam.”

More information about this scam is detailed in this Forbes.com article:

IRS Warns On Another Twist On Tax Phone Scams