About six months ago, I got a frantic call from a client. Apparently, she got a call, from somebody saying that they were from the Internal Revenue Service. They stated that she owed back taxes. If she didn’t go to the store, and get a prepaid Visa card for $500, they were going to have an IRS officer come to her home and arrest her. When she called, I told her that the IRS agent call me. My client didn’t know any back taxes, and I knew that the IRS doesn’t work this way.
First of all, the IRS will never put you in jail for not paying your taxes. They may take everything that you own, but they’re not to put you in prison. Secondly, the IRS doesn’t work by calling taxpayers, and telling them that they must pay with a prepaid Visa card. Now, a Revenue Officer may come to your home or place of business, and threaten you a little bit, but they will always show you their badge. So, if you get a call from the IRS, or somebody shows up saying that there an IRS officer asked to see their badge.
Unfortunately, this scam is one of the IRS’s dirty dozen tax scams for 2014. This is a complete and utter scam by criminals. If you get a call from the IRS, call your accountant immediately.
I talked to my client, and told her that this was a scam, and to not give them anything. She was shaken, and frazzled it took me a long time to convince her that this was a scam. But she took my advice, and the phone calls stopped. She didn’t get arrested, and everybody lived happily ever after.