AG’s office warns residents to beware of IRS phone scam

The Attorney General’s Office is warning Nevada residents to be on the look out this tax season for scammers posing as the Internal Revenue Service. The crooks attempt to gain access to personal information and then use it fraudulently.

Several local people say they have already been the target of one of these scams and want to warn fellow Pahrump residents not to fall for it.

According to the AG’s office, individuals will call potential victims and use a number of tactics or tricks to try to get them to give up their financial information.

They may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security Number or use the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it’s actually the IRS contacting them. It is also common for scammers to threaten victims with jail time or even driver’s license revocation as well.

One Pahrump resident, who wished not to be named, said someone claiming to be from the IRS called his home last week telling him that he was delinquent in his payments. The caller then reportedly threatened to send two men to his home to collect the payment if he did not agree to pay over the phone that day.

The man said he immediately hung up and called the sheriff’s office suspecting it was likely a scam.

If you suspect you have received one of these calls, the AG’s office has several suggestions on how to handle the situation.

If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS employees can help you with a payment issue.

If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you’ve never received a bill or the caller made threats as described above), then call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484.

If you’ve been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their “FTC Complaint Assistant.”