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WASHINGTON – Michiganders have lost more than $348,000 to telephone con artists who pretend to be from the Internal Revenue Service and demand immediate cash payments, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Eighty-eight victims from Michigan have been reported to the federal government, more than all but 12 other states.

The scam is the largest and most pervasive impersonation scam in the history of the Treasury Department.

“I myself received one of those calls at my home one Saturday,” Timothy Camus, a Treasury deputy inspector general for tax administration, told the Senate Finance Committee this month.

Callers pretending to be from the IRS say that the intended victim owes taxes and must pay immediately using a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. Callers often threaten those who refuse to pay with arrest, deportation or loss of a business or driver’s license.

The treasury inspector general for tax administration receives 9,000 to 12,000 reports of the scam each week. Since the agency began tracking it in October 2013, more than 3,000 people have been victimized by paying a total of $15.6 million.

Multiple agencies are investigating the scam, and two people were arrested recently for their alleged role in converting the prepaid money cards.

The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office has received numerous reports of attempted identity theft and fraud by individuals claiming to be from the IRS.

“It seems we get an increase in these type of phone calls as we get closer to April 15,” said Undersheriff Larry Jerue.

The fraudulent callers tell residents that they owe back taxes and must make immediate payment using a prepaid credit card or wire transfer.

“They also have been known to say that local police will come to their home and make an arrest if the payment is not made soon,” said Jerue. “That alone is a tip-off that the call is fraudulent. Our department or any local police agency would not be involved in any enforcement effort for the IRS.”

Jerue said the callers have also been known to provide a fraudulent badge number to make the caller sound more official. Also, the callers have also altered their caller ID to make it appear someone from the IRS is making the call.

Officials say the best way to stop the scam is to make sure the public knows that’s not how the IRS operates.

The IRS first contacts people by mail — not by phone — about unpaid taxes. And the IRS won’t ask for payment using a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. The IRS also won’t ask for a credit card number over the phone.

“The scam is so simple. We’ll never be able to prevent somebody from picking up the phone, claiming to be another person and demanding money,” Camus said at the Senate hearing. “It’s people hanging up the telephone.”

Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson is among those who got a call, which went into the voicemail on his home phone. The caller said Isakson and his wife owed a substantial amount of money to the IRS and if they didn’t quickly call back, they would be sued.

“Being a member of (the Senate Finance) committee, I realized that probably wasn’t true,” Isakson said. But he said the government should spread the word that the IRS doesn’t make calls like that.

Bill Theobald of USA TODAY and Tom Thelen of the State Journal contributed to this story.



IRS phone scam

What to do if you get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS:

•If you think you might owe federal taxes, hang up and call the IRS at (800) 829-1040.

•If you don’t owe taxes, fill out the “IRS Impersonation scam” form at www.treasury.gov/tigta or call 800-366-4484.

•Criminals also try to get personal or financial information with emails that claim to be from the IRS. Do not respond to unsolicited emails. Instead, forward the message to the IRS at [email protected]