If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be the IRS or the Department of Treasury, hang up and do not call back.
That is a scam, police warn. Departments from Amherst, Depew, Jamestown, Lancaster and North Tonawanda have all said these scammers have targeted people in their communities.
The phone call or voice message warns of federal charges, but police say that is not true. According to Captain Sean Simet with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, the IRS “will never contact people by phone, by e-mail by text or by social media.” He says that the IRS would send a letter if the agency needed to communicate with someone.
Captain Simet adds that these cases are hard to investigate by local police because they are often made via robocalls and come from all over the world.
Anyone who has received this scam should contact the IRS fraud hotline at 1-800-829-0433.
