Warning: beware of a call purporting to be from Legal Affairs at the IRS
Last edited Fri Dec 19, 2014, 06:28 PM - Edit history (1)
or the Department of Treasury.
They will tell you that it concerns taxes that you paid late and not in full, and that you didn't answer their letters and therefore it's too late for your accountant to help you, and that you are about to be arrested on a criminal warrant, and they are coming to your house in 45 minutes to arrest you, you will be in jail for 6 months, you should get a criminal attorney, etc., etc.
All the color was draining out of my son's face as he was listening to this call, but luckily our accountant was immediately reachable by phone.
Our son was the fourth client this has happened to, and one of them actually went to a bank to withdraw money before he thought to call the accountant.
This is not how the IRS proceeds. This is a SCAM.
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Scam-Phone-Calls-Continue;-IRS-Identifies-Five-Easy-Ways-to-Spot-Suspicious-Calls
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service issued a consumer alert today providing taxpayers with additional tips to protect themselves from telephone scam artists calling and pretending to be with the IRS.
These callers may demand money or may say you have a refund due and try to trick you into sharing private information. These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They may know a lot about you, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling. They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. If you don’t answer, they often leave an “urgent” callback request.
“These telephone scams are being seen in every part of the country, and we urge people not to be deceived by these threatening phone calls,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said. “We have formal processes in place for people with tax issues. The IRS respects taxpayer rights, and these angry, shake-down calls are not how we do business.”
The IRS reminds people that they can know pretty easily when a supposed IRS caller is a fake. Here are five things the scammers often do but the IRS will not do. Any one of these five things is a tell-tale sign of a scam. The IRS will never:
Call to demand immediate payment, nor will we call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill..
Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, here’s what you should do:
If you know you owe taxes or think you might owe, call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040. The IRS workers can help you with a payment issue.
If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to believe that you do, report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1.800.366.4484 or at www.tigta.gov.
You can file a complaint using the FTC Complaint Assistant; choose “Other” and then “Imposter Scams.” If the complaint involves someone impersonating the IRS, include the words “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.
Remember, too, the IRS does not use unsolicited email, text messages or any social media to discuss your personal tax issue. For more information on reporting tax scams, go to www.irs.gov and type “scam” in the search box.
Additional information about tax scams are available on IRS social media sites, including YouTube and Tumblr where people can search “scam” to find all the scam-related posts.
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He said he was still giving them the Green card #'s over the phone when his wife came home and grabbed the phone out of his hands and hung up. 
The way I got 'scammed' was a couple years ago I filed my taxes and got a letter from IRS asking why I filed twice 
I did not file twice, however I had used the extension form to file late. I think I was on a list somewhere & someone else took advantage of that info.
They are so kind to warn me about, I took Windows off my computer and put Linux on it. They curse and hang up. 
I've dealt with them. If you go into the nearest IRS office and talk to them (or even on the phone), they tend to be very accommodating. They don't want the extra paper work, they just want to get some agreement. That said, many years ago (probably doesn't apply the current de-funded IRS), an IRS agent called my office. My assistant answered the phone and the guy yelled at her and said they were coming to put padlocks on the doors. She was rightfully panicked, but this was a personal issue, nothing to do with my business. I went to the IRS office the next day, told them what this agent had done. They called him into the office, reamed him out in front of me, forgave the late fees they wrongfully claimed I owed, and we went on our merry way. The IRS is NEVER, EVER allowed to talk to an employee. Only the person responsible for any supposed debt.
Once the douche bag was out of the way, the main guy, his supervisor, was very polite and friendly and we worked out a perfectly reasonable payment for my personal debt...which, again, had nothing to do with my business. Point being, just be nice, don't panic. They don't want the hassle any more than you do. It's been more than twenty years, but any time I've had to deal with the IRS they've actually been pretty friendly. I know it pains some to read this.
My first IT job called with their offer on a Friday and they wanted me to start on Monday. I told them the 300 mile commute each way was too much and that it would take me a bit to find a place to live. They offered corporate accommodations and I took it. I was making peanuts (18k a year) and the HR person knew it, so she let me stay for 5 months since they had nobody using them. Nobody ever told me it would all be considered income though 
When I got my tax form at the end of the year it had a massive report attached that detailed everything I made that year... All the rent, maid service, food allotment... Other crap... It pretty much doubled my income (it was an awesome place on the Connecticut River with a balcony that went out over the river) but had only taken taxes out based on my salary... I figured it out and I owed a few thousand... Yeah, still peanuts in the grand scheme of things but I simply did not have it. I called, they let me set my own payment, then reduced it and stretched it a bit more, told me to call if I was ever going to miss a payment and it would not be a problem (I did do it a few times and it never was, just a call) and it was done. Hell, I did not even get interest or a fine... No muss, no fuss.
I told them I was looking forward to reminding the police we do not have debtors prison and a hearing is needed before a person can be held on a tax matter. I would have coffee ready for the officers.
Wasted a pot of coffee. 
that I hadn't overlooked a piece of mail addressed to my son, in the small mountain of mail that starts arriving in September and continues through Christmas.
So if he was in trouble for not answering mail, it could have been my fault. A miserable thought for a mother.
With that knowledge I would likely have been less of a smart ass.
Next time let them have it 
I will be in much better shape to respond.
But usually I don't even answer calls from unknown locations. Unfortunately it was my husband who answered the phone this time, and he is less likely to just ignore these calls. We've all learned our lesson this time.
I think I would have figured it out a little more quickly.
The worst part for me was that it involved my son (a college senior), and I was watching his face, and I was feeling responsible since I was wondering if I had lost a piece of important mail amidst the junk we are always inundated with. So I didn't start thinking clearly till we got off the phone.
The weird part is that they named a figure that he owed (more than he made that whole year since he only had a summer job), but didn't ask him to pay it. Just said that they would be coming to arrest him. Maybe they were expecting him to beg for mercy. Instead he just said okay and hung up.