Crime Prevention
The Springville Police Department urges its citizens to be alert of IRS phone scams. Citizens are being contacted by people posing as IRS agents trying to trick them out of their money or personal information. They tell people they have a tax bill and demand that it must be payed immediately. People are told to send cash through a pre-paid debit card, wire transfer or to give personal identification information. These callers use threats to send police to homes to arrest people or that their driver’s license will be revoked if the bill is not paid. These calls are a scam and the people calling you are criminals!
The IRS will not:
- Call and demand immediate payment. They will first send you a bill in the mail.
- Demand you pay taxes without allowing you to question or appeal the amount owed.
- Tell you how to pay the tax bill.
- Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the telephone.
- Threaten to send police or other agencies to arrest people for not paying the tax bill.
- Ask for your social security number or personal information
If you have any questions you may contact:
Springville Police Department
Treasury Inspector General
Federal Trade Commission
Types of Scams
In a phishing scam, victims are contacted by someone claiming to be someone they’re not. They usually pose as a contact from an organization. Their goal is to get you to give them your personal information or to follow a malicious link online for similar purposes.
A common phishing scam you’ll see is the “expired warranty” scam. You’ll get a call or email telling you the warranty on your vehicle or computer is expired. The scammer tries to obtain your personal information “in order to renew the warranty”. If you give in, your warranty isn’t renewed and the scammer goes to lunch on your dime.
If you ever doubt someone is who they say they are, end the conversation with them and contact the organization directly. You’ll usually discover the scammer isn’t associated with the organization.
This one is simple, yet effective. The scammer teases you with something appealing to get your interest, but then switches to something else when you try to take them up on the offer. For example:
The scammer entices you with something nice that you can have for an upfront cost. After you pay, the scammer disappears with your money and doesn’t give you what was promised.
A common occurrence of Advanced Fee Fraud in the area is found on classifieds like KSL. The scammer offers to buy something from you and sends a check for too much money asking for the difference to be paid back to them. Once you pay the scammer, they disappear and you find out the check they gave you is only worth the paper it’s printed on.
Careful; that attractive woman you found online could be a 36 year old man named Kyle sitting in his parents’ basement eating chicharrones and drinking warm tab. A good indicator that you’re dating a scammer is when she/he asks for money. Another warning sign is that someone so attractive picked you. (Come see us if you need some ointment for that burn)
A good rule of thumb for the internet is to avoid giving personal information or money to strangers, no matter how pretty they are. Try taking your Kyle out to dinner first.