30°
The department would like to warn area residents about falling victim to such scams.
The first incident concerned a Danbury resident who received a phone call from a male who stated that he works for the IRS and has a warrant for the victim's arrest through the Department of Treasury.
The caller explained to the victim that if he wanted the arrest warrant to disappear, the victim needed to pay the account off immediately.The victim was told he owes the "IRS" $7,800.
The caller explained to the victim that the only form of payment the IRS would accept is through Apple I-Tune gift cards.The victim stated he then drove to the nearest Apple store with the caller on the phone, and paid for 16 Apple I-Tune gift cards, valued at $500 each. The total amount in the gift cards was $8,000.
The victim then read the caller the code numbers on the back of each card, and the phone call was ended.
On another occasion, another Danbury resident received multiple phone calls from a male who also stated that he works for the IRS. The caller told the Danbury resident he was going to arrest him and make him spend eight months in prison.The only way to take care of it was to take care of his outstanding balance of $480 immediately.
The victim then went to Rite Aid and purchased $480 worth of I-tunes cards. The victim then gave the caller all the access codes on the back of the cards.
According to the IRS, the agency generally first contacts taxpayers by mail -- not by phone -- concerning owed taxes, and it will never ask for payments using a I-Tunes gift card, prepaid debit card, money order or wire transfer.
Those who think they have been the victim of an IRS impersonation scam, please file a report online with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration by clicking here or calling the agency at 1-800-366-4484.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Danbury and receive free news updates.
