A phone scam threatening residents with jail time if they fail to pay the Internal Revenue Service immediately is making rounds again.
“We’ve had four clients call so far,” said Bobbie Heroy of H&R Block. “They tell them police are on the way over to arrest them if they don’t pay $7,000 right then.”
Heroy said one client in Silverton was going to sit down to write a check, when the caller told him he had to pay by credit card. When he said he didn’t have credit cards, the caller told him it needed to be cash. When he said he didn’t have that kind of cash, the caller hung up. When he tried to call back, the number was disconnected.
“One little lady called me and she said, ‘You don’t do my taxes, but I’m scared,’ because she thought there were going to be federal marshals at her door,” Heroy said. “I told her that’s a crock, and invited her to bring her records in for us to check if she’s still worried.”
People who receive these calls should never give Social Security numbers or money over the phone, Heroy said.
“Call your tax preparer and the police,” Heroy said. “The IRS will send you notifications by mail first, and they won’t call you unless you call them first and request a call at a certain time.”
abutler@durangoherald.com