Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration IRS Impersonation Scam Update

June 6, 2018

As of June 6, 2018, TIGTA has received additional information that callers impersonating Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or Treasury Department employees are demanding payments for alleged outstanding tax debts not only on iTunes cards and other reloadable gift cards, but now also on Google Play Gift Cards. Scam callers also may request payment of taxes on Green Dot Prepaid Cards, MoneyPak Prepaid Cards, Reloadit Prepaid Debit Cards, and other prepaid credit cards. These are fraudulent calls.

As a reminder, any call requesting that taxpayers place funds on a Google Play Gift Card, an iTunes Gift Card or any other gift cards to pay taxes and fees is an indicator of fraudulent activity! No legitimate United States Treasury or IRS official will demand that payments via Western Union, MoneyGram, bank wire transfers, or bank deposits be made into another person’s account for any debt to the IRS or Treasury. Hang up on these fraudulent callers and go to the TIGTA scam reporting page to report the call. Watch our videos.

June 13, 2016

As of June 13, 2016, TIGTA has received additional information that callers impersonating Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or Treasury Department employees are demanding payments not only on iTunes Gift Cards but on other gift cards as well. Scam callers may also request payment of taxes on Green Dot Prepaid Cards, MoneyPak Prepaid Cards, Reloadit Prepaid Debit Cards, and other prepaid credit cards. These are fraudulent calls.

As a reminder, any call requesting that taxpayers place funds on an iTunes Gift Card or other gift cards to pay taxes and fees is an indicator of fraudulent activity! No legitimate United States Treasury or IRS official will demand that payments via Western Union, MoneyGram, bank wire transfers, or bank deposits be made into another person’s account for any debt to the IRS or Treasury. Hang up on these fraudulent callers and go to the TIGTA scam reporting page to report the call. Watch our videos.

April 21, 2016

As of April 21, 2016, TIGTA has received information that callers impersonating Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees or the Treasury Department are demanding payments on iTunes Gift Cards. As a reminder, scam callers may also request payment of taxes on Green Dot Prepaid Cards, MoneyPak Prepaid Cards, Reloadit Prepaid Debit Cards, and other prepaid credit cards. These are fraudulent calls.

Any call requesting that taxpayers place funds on an iTunes Gift Card or other prepaid cards to pay taxes and fees is an indicator of fraudulent activity! No legitimate United States Treasury or IRS official will demand that payments via Western Union, MoneyGram, bank wire transfers or bank deposits be made into another person’s account for any debt to the IRS or Treasury. Hang up on these fraudulent callers and go to the TIGTA scam reporting page to report the call.