Attorney General warns of IRS scam to defraud taxpayers

By The Associated Press

news@abc6.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) _ Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin says scam artists are ramping up their efforts to defraud taxpayers.

Kilmartin says he has received an influx of complaints from Rhode Island residents, including several employees in his office, about calls claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service.

Kilmartin says that according to these complaints, the scam artists say the taxpayer owes back taxes and threatens arrest, driver’s license suspension or even deportation, if a payment is not made immediately.           

The caller demands that the payment be made with a pre-paid debit card, wire transfer, credit card or authorized bank account withdrawal.          

Kilmartin says he wants to remind people that the IRS will never call to demand immediate payment or threaten imminent arrest.

© The Associated Press / WLNE-TV 2015