The Redding Police Department would like to warn residents of another rash of fraud attempts involving suspect(s) claiming to be federal Internal Revenue Service agents.
SHASCOM dispatch has received over 100 calls for service today from citizens concerned about phone messages left on their answering machines. The caller claims to be an IRS agent. The caller tells the recipient that back taxes are owed, and they will be arrested if they do not call back to remedy the problem.
This is a telephone scam. The message should be ignored, since real federal agents do not leave automated messages to hundreds of citizens in a geographical area. If someone owes back taxes, the first thing the IRS will do is send a written notice in the mail.
The IRS can be contacted for reporting purposes regarding this scam online at phishing@irs.gov.
The influx of phone calls has placed a burden on the SHASCOM dispatch center. Citizens are advised to use the online reporting at the IRS website instead of calling SHASCOM.
