IRS Warns Taxpayers of Phone Scams this Tax Season

Posted on February 6, 2017
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI

The Internal Revenue Service expects phone scams to remain a threat this tax season. Once again, they’ve made the “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams released each year by the IRS.

The IRS reminds taxpayers that it generally does not initiate contact by phone. Instead, they will mail a bill first.

Additionally, the IRS will never call to demand that people pay immediately using a specific payment method, like a prepaid debit card, gift card, or wire transfer. They will also never threaten to immediately have someone arrested for not paying.

Since October of 2013, more than 10,000 phone scam victims have collectively paid over $54 million, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

Visit https://www.irs.gov for more information.

Tax Scammers Now Targeting Students

June 1, 2016AuthorMichael Gallenberger, WKVI 

The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers about another phone scam, this one targeting students. A caller claiming to be from the IRS demands payment for a “Federal Student Tax,” threatening to report students to the police if they don’t wire money immediately. Not only are these scammers not from the IRS, the “Federal Student Tax” doesn’t even exist.

The IRS reminds taxpayers that it will never demand payment without having first mailed a bill. It also won’t threaten to bring in local police to have people arrested for not paying, or require them to use a specific payment method, like a prepaid debit card.

IRS officials ask those who receive these scam telephone calls to report them to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Federal Trade Commission.

NIPSCO Scam Calls Reported in Starke County

March 2, 2016AuthorMary Perren, WKVI 

 

Several Grovertown and Koontz Lake area residents and businesses have reported receiving scam telephone calls from someone claiming to be a NIPSCO representative. The caller advises service will be disconnected unless immediate payment is made.

According to reports filed with the Starke County Sheriff’s Office, NIPSCO is not making the calls. At least one person realized this after agreeing to pay, while others hung up on the caller and verified the status of their account with NIPSSO. That’s when they learned the calls are phony.

Contact NIPSCO directly to verify the status of your account before agreeing to pay. The customer support team can be reached by calling 1-800-464-7726 or visiting www.nipsco.com.

NIPSCO Warns Customers of Scam

December 9, 2015AuthorMichael Gallenberger, WKVI 

 

NIPSCO is warning customers of a telephone scam, which began targeting customers over the weekend.

They say the scammers are calling businesses and homes from various 800 numbers claiming to be NIPSCO employees. The callers say the customer has a delinquent bill which requires immediate payment or services will be shut off. Some customers have also been asked to buy a money gram or prepaid debit card, before being told to call a different 800 number to make the payment. Others have been given an address for a local NIPSCO facility and asked to make the payment in person.

NIPSCO says it never asks customers who are behind on payment to pay cash or purchase a prepaid debit card. They also say to never call any number other than 1-800-4NIPSCO to deal with their accounts.

Customers are being reminded never to give out personal information if they aren’t completely sure who’s asking for it. NIPSCO says it does ask for Social Security numbers, but only when a customer is applying for a new service or to verify a customer’s identification.

If you’re not sure if a call, e-mail, or other communication is actually from NIPSCO, call 1-800-4NIPSCO to double check, and if you think you may have given your information to a scammer, call 911 and contact your bank or credit card company. For more information, visit NIPSCO.com/StaySafe.

Residents Report Bogus Calls from Microsoft

By: Ben Haut, WKVI
Published: February 14th, 2014

The latest round of telephone scams to hit the area involves a caller claiming to be from a reputable company. Several residents have gotten calls from someone claiming to be a Microsoft representative and asking for information. The caller is extremely persistent and claims the person’s computer is on the verge of crashing and can only be fixed if they provide information for him to access it remotely. Microsoft does not initiate such calls, and allowing someone this type of access to your computer can make you vulnerable to identity theft as they can steal passwords and other secure data. Do not give passwords, Social Security or bank account numbers or any other information to a caller you do not know. The best thing to do is to hang up on such callers, look up a number for the company they claim to represent and contact their customer service department yourself to make sure there is not any sort of problem that requires your attention.