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 is again warning residents about a persistent scam to defraud taxpayers as complaints increase nationwide.
        
Kilmartin says the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reports receiving about 600,000 complaints about the “IRS scam” since October 2013, and knows of nearly 4,000 people who reported a total of more than $20 million in losses.
        
Kilmartin says the scam artists claim the taxpayer owes back taxes and threaten arrest, driver’s license suspension or even deportation, if payment is not made immediately.
        
He says the callers are now using “spoofed” phone numbers that appear to be from legitimate organizations.
        
Kilmartin says the IRS won’t call to demand immediate payment or threaten imminent arrest.
        
Kilmartin issued a similar warning in June after he received an influx of complaints. 
    
(c) The Associated Press / WLNE-TV 2015