You have probably heard of the latest scam that is going on.

You can find out more details in the following article from AARP:

SCAM ALERT: TAX ID THEFT & FRAUD

The second scam in the article is the one I want to discuss. In this scam someone phones you at home and tells you that you owe income tax. They claim that unless you pay them you will be arrested, blah blah blah.

How to protect yourself from phone scams:

1. First of all you should know that IRS will NEVER call you on the phone and demand money. If someone claims to be from IRS and threatens you just hang up. If the IRS really wants to contact you they will send you a letter in the mail first.
2. Do not give out personal or financial information over the phone. Do not give bank account or credit card numbers or your social security number.
3. If you receive scam phone calls like this frequently, you might want to consider screening your calls. Or if you can’t screen the calls just let them go to voice mail. You can then listen to your voice mail and return legitimate calls.
4. If you do get calls from scammers you can report them. Here are some places you can contact for help.

• Call the IRS at 800-829-1040.
• Call the  AARP helpline at 877-908-3360 for advice and guidance.

Here are some other places where you can submit complaints and find out more about scams:

• Phone scams
• How to file a complaint
• FTC Complaint assistant
• Report fraud
• File a complaint with Fraud.org

Here is more information from the IRS about the phone scams – IRS Repeats Warning about Phone Scams