IRS Warns Of Tax Scams

Internal Revenue Service spokeswoman Karen Connelly is warning people about several  scams being reported this tax season.

Connelly, who is with the agency's Denver office, says people can protect themselves by remembering a few basic rules.

She says the agency will never contact you via telephone without having first sent you a notice in the mail. She says phone scams involving cold calls from phony IRS agents have been widely reported this year. adding the agency doesn't operate that way.

She says another red flag is any kind of high-pressure tactic that demands immediate payment of supposed back taxes. Connelly says con artists will often invoke the threat of immediate arrests by local police unless payment is made.

She says the agency will always allow you to challenge a tax bill if you dispute either the amount or the fact money is owed.

Connelly says another common tactic is the demand that payment be made through a debit card or by wire transfer. She says the IRS doesn't specify those type of payments when money is owed.

Connelly says a final red flag is the demand that the payment be directed to a specific individual rather than the agency, which she says isn't something a legitimate IRS agent would do.

Connelly says more information on tax scams and IRS procedures is available at the agency's website.