Warning issued on fake IRS calls in St. Louis County

Police and prosecutors are warning the public about a scam involving purported calls from the Internal Revenue Service.
Authorities said scammers have been contacting residents of the Duluth and St. Louis County areas and claiming to be representatives of the IRS, calling to inform them that they are entitled to a refund or that they owe money.
The scammers often use common names and surnames to identify themselves and may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security number, police said. They may “spoof” the IRS’ actual toll-free number on caller ID and sometimes will send bogus emails as well.
The callers attempt to obtain or verify personal or financial information from the victims over the phone, police said. The callers have threatened residents with jail time or driver’s license revocation. Sometimes they hang up, and others soon call back pretending to be from local police or the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Authorities stressed that the IRS never asks for credit card information or requests immediate payment over the telephone and will not take enforcement action following a phone conversation.
“We want to do our part to protect our citizens, and awareness is the key,” St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin said.
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, you are asked to call the IRS at (800) 829-1040, report the call to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at (800) 366-4484, or file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.