We wanted to pass on the following important notice from the District Attorney. Please be careful!
February 22, 2016, District Attorney, Jefferson & Gilpin Counties
District Attorney Pete Weir is warning consumers to beware of the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) Imposter scam. We are seeing a steady increase in the number of consumer calls about the scam to our fraud hotline.
The scams may have slight variations. Consumers receive telephone calls or voicemails from individuals saying they are with the IRS and that there is problem with the consumer’s tax account. Callers may threaten a lawsuit, Treasury or other enforcement action. They may be “phishing” for your personal and financial information, or they may demand some form of payment.
Do not be misled. This is a scam. The IRS will never contact a taxpayer by telephone or email regarding their tax account. Consumers should not return the call. Payment or your personal or financial information provided to scammers cannot be recovered; often there is nothing that law enforcement can do.
“Scammers may employ threats in their attempts to convince consumers that this is an urgent matter and that they must act immediately,” said Weir. “We encourage consumers not to react. When in doubt, always call your local DA or law enforcement agency for more information.”
Should consumers receive one of these calls we recommend they get more information before they act. They may:
• Contact the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office at 303-271-6931;
• Call the IRS directly. Call 303-446-1675 or 800-829-1040 to verify that taxes are current and up to date or call 800-366-4484 to alert the IRS of this scam if your taxes have been paid;
• Forward any suspicious emails to phishing@irs.gov;
• Don’t open any attachments or click on any links in those emails; or
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint.
Pam Russell
DA Public Information
303-271-6905
prussel@jeffco.us