The Redding Police Department would like to warn residents of continued telephone fraud attempts involving suspect(s) claiming to be federal Internal Revenue Service agents.
SHASCOM dispatch has received over 50 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. These phone messages 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 to report this scam, online at www.tigta.gov. Once at the website, the reporting party will click on “tax scams” under “news/events.” The reporting party can also call the IRS at 1-800-366-4484.
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.
