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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

BBB Tip of the Week

Scammers are calling claiming to be from the U.S. Treasury Office, the IRS or even the police or sheriff’s office. The caller claims that a legal action has been started against you or you owe back taxes or other debt and may even claim that an arrest warrant for you will be issued.

These scammers call year-round and use threats to get your personal information or money via wire transfer or prepaid debit card. To help seem legitimate, scammers will often use technology to fake, or spoof, an identity or phone number on caller ID. So don’t trust caller ID when receiving unexpected phone calls.

The Better Business Bureau offers the following advice to avoid becoming a victim of government impostor scams:

Don’t give personal or financial information over the phone, or through email. If the caller has some information, don’t confirm it.

Hang up on callers claiming to be from the government. Don’t return calls to the number given. Instead, call the agency directly at a phone number you know to be genuine if you think the call may be real.

Don’t send money, share bank account routing information or give them credit card information. Impostors often ask for a wire transfer or money deposited to a prepaid debit card.

Keep your cool. If you think the caller may be legitimate, ask questions such as their name, government ID number, their direct supervisor’s name and the phone number for their agency. This information could help a scam when you call the agency directly at a number you’ve verified or when you report it online.

The FTC provides more information for identifying government impostor scams at http://1.usa.gov/1csme1z.

Scammers can be persistent and threatening in their calls. The best thing to do is hang up and ignore them. You can also call your phone provider to find out how to block unwanted callers.

If you get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, hang up and call the IRS directly at (800) 829-1040 to get help if you owe taxes and need a payment plan.

You can report these suspicious phone calls and scams to government agencies: to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at www.tigta.gov; to Crime Check at www.spokane county.org/crimecheck or (509) 456-2233; and to the BBB at http://go.bbb.org/1zOY3oy or by calling (509) 455-4200.

By Erin T. Dodge, BBB editor