Don’t let scammers ruin your holiday season.

In a recent publication the IRS advises taxpayers about possible scams involving gift cards.  The IRS NEVER asks for or accepts gift cards as payment for a tax bill.

Scammers are very savy and try to trick taxpayers into falling for the gift card scam.  These criminals impersonate IRS or government officials and send official looking requests for gift cards to resolve an outstanding tax debt.  The scammer will ask the victim to purchase the gifts cards from different stores and once the cards have been purchased the scammer will ask the taxpayer to provide the gift card number and PIN.  It sounds far fetched but many taxpayers fall victim to this type of scam every year.

Scammers may send emails that appear to be from a legitimate company but are not.  Scammers may pose as an IRS agent and call the taxpayer stating that the taxpayer is linked to criminal activity.  Scammers may threaten or harass the taxpayer by telling them that they must pay a fake tax penalty.

It is important to note that the IRS will NEVER:

• Call the taxpayer to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a gift card, prepaid debit card or wire transfer.
• Demand that the taxpayer pay taxes without the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they owe.  Taxpayers have rights.
• Threaten to involve local police, immigration officers or other law enforcement to have the taxpayer arrested for not paying.
• Threaten to revoke the taxpayer’s driver’s license, business license or immigration status.

Anyone who has been a target of such a scam should immediately contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484.