Fraud Cleanup

Scam Tax Calls: How to Spot One and What to Do

A call says you owe back taxes and must pay now or be arrested. Here is how to tell it from the real IRS, and what to do next.

The phone rings. A voice says you owe back taxes, and police are on the way unless you pay right now. Your heart pounds, and the clock in your head starts ticking. Take a breath. Scam tax calls run on fear. The rules below break that spell.

What a scam tax call sounds like when you pick up

The FTC says phone scammers want one of two things: your money, or your personal information for identity theft. Some act friendly and helpful. Others threaten or scare you.

The IRS describes the pattern plainly. Impersonators demand payment now and threaten arrest or deportation. The IRS says scammers send you a tax bill to trick you into paying them.

How the real IRS actually contacts people about back taxes

The FTC's page on government impersonation is blunt about this. The IRS will never email, text, or message you on social media with threats or demands that you pay.

And if a private debt collector is working for the IRS, the FTC says that collector will never ask you to pay over the phone.

Here is the line to hold onto. Neither the IRS nor its collectors will threaten to arrest you. The FTC says real law enforcement and federal agencies will not call and threaten you, either. A threat of arrest on a tax call is the scam, full stop.

Do you owe real back taxes? The IRS says you can settle directly with them if you are eligible for an offer in compromise. Watch out for the mills the IRS warns about, where promoters claim you need their paid services to settle. The IRS also warns that tax debt relief services promise to settle for pennies on the dollar and rush you to pay them. Rushing you is the same trick the phone callers use.

The payment demands that give the scam away

Listen for how they want the money. The FTC says only scammers insist you pay by wire transfer, gift card, cryptocurrency, or payment app. No real government office bills that way.

The gift card demand is the loudest alarm. The same goes for a wire or a crypto transfer. If the caller names one of these, you can hang up with confidence.

Caller ID lies and spoofed numbers

Maybe your screen showed a real-looking government number. The FTC says a scammer can make a fake name or number show up on your caller ID. The number on your screen proves nothing.

If you are unsure about a number that called you, our page on is this a scam number can help you sort it.

What to do while you are still on the phone

The FTC's rule is simple. Do not give phone scammers your money or personal information. The FTC also says no government agency will call you out of the blue and ask for sensitive information like your Social Security number.

Where to report a scam tax call

Reporting does some good. The FTC says the information you provide helps it and its law enforcement partners track down the scammers behind the call.

Where you report depends on what happened:

  • If you lost money or have information about the scammer, the FTC says to tell them at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
  • If you lost no money and just want to report the call, the FTC says to use the streamlined reporting form at DoNotCall.gov.
  • For IRS impersonators specifically, the FTC says to report them to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at tigta.gov.

Include the exact date and time of the call if you know it. The FTC asks for that detail. The FTC also releases the phone numbers you report to the public each business day. That helps phone carriers and other partners work on call-blocking and call-labeling tools.

For the wider picture on this con, see our page on the IRS scam. If the approach arrived by mail instead of by phone, our page on IRS scam mail covers the paper version. And if you spot a fake tax scheme in the wild, you can report tax fraud.

If you already paid or gave out information

It happens to smart people. Fear is a strong lever. Here is what the FTC says to do next, based on how you paid.

  • Gift card. The FTC says to keep a copy of the gift card and the store receipt.
  • Cash by U.S. mail. The FTC says to contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and ask them to intercept the package.
  • Cash by another delivery service. The FTC says to contact that service as soon as possible.

Then report the loss at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, as the FTC advises for anyone who has lost money to a phone scam.

The IRS says scammers target people over age 65 or nearing retirement for personal or financial information or money.

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