Phone Scam: IRS Collections Calls

The La Crosse Police Department would like to warn area residents that phone scammers are continuing to make fake Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collections calls.  The fake IRS callers, using both “live” and “robo-calls”, are demanding that the victim make an immediate payment on an overdue tax bill.  They demand personal details or banking information, and then they threaten the victim with arrest or jail time if they don’t comply.  Unfortunately, these scammers seem to know quite a bit about the victim and even use “caller ID spoofing” to trick them into thinking that they are receiving a legitimate call.

However, this is a SCAM!

Both the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and IRS would like to remind consumers that the IRS will never call out of the blue, especially regarding overdue tax bills.  Any official request for payment by the IRS is first mailed to the consumer through an official bill.

If you feel you have been targeted by this scam, or any other, please contact the La Crosse Police Department non-emergency number at (608) 785-5962.  For any questions regarding scams in general, contact the LCPD Professional Standards/Community Services Bureau at (608) 789-7240.

Never give out your personal details, banking information, passwords, or access to your computer to any unknown person, agency, or company.  Always hang up, find a publicly listed phone number in the phone book or online, and call the person, agency, or company back to verify the request.