WASHINGTON ? The Internal Revenue Service today warned consumers about a sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, throughout the country.

Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver?s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting.

?This scam has hit taxpayers in nearly every state in the country.  We want to educate taxpayers so they can help protect themselves.  Rest assured, we do not and will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone, nor request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer,? says IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel. ?If someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from the IRS and threatens police arrest, deportation or license revocation if you don?t pay immediately, that is a sign that it really isn?t the IRS calling.? Werfel noted that the first IRS contact with taxpayers on a tax issue is likely to occur via mail
Other characteristics of this scam include:
Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.
Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim?s Social Security Number.
Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it?s the IRS calling.
Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls.
Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.
After threatening victims with jail time or driver?s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim.
If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here?s what you should do:
If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue ? if there really is such an issue.
If you know you don?t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you?ve never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats as described above), then call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1.800.366.4484.
If you?ve been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their ?FTC Complaint Assistant? at FTC.gov.  Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" to the comments of your complaint.
Taxpayers should be aware that there are other unrelated scams (such as a lottery sweepstakes) and solicitations (such as debt relief) that fraudulently claim to be from the IRS.
The IRS encourages taxpayers to be vigilant against phone and email scams that use the IRS as a lure. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information.  This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels. The IRS also does not ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts. Recipients should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, forward the e-mail to phishing@irs.gov.

More information on how to report phishing scams involving the IRS is available on the genuine IRS website, IRS.gov.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Warns-of-Pervasive-Telephone-Scam

I got a call yesterday from Alex Martin from NY - number was 646-929-4626.
He said he is from IRS and the National Bureau of Crime Investigation has filed a lawsuit against me for Violation of Tax.
He stated some 3 counts against me, said I was in legal trouble, and there is an arrest warrant against my name.

When I called back, it went to some extension for Officer Shane. This definitely looks like a scam. Do not give out any information. Call the IRS and also report to your local police.

I've been getting these call for several years.
This what I've found to be pretty effective.
I made a list of spam callers phone numbers and when one of them call, I answer with
AN INDIAN ACCENT AND SAY HELLO, HELLO, HELLO, AND I DO NOT IN GAGE IN CONVERSATION WITH THEM. This drives them crazy and they hang up.
Mission accomplished! Then they put me on their DO NOT CALL LIST. !!!! I win.  

Now, those call have dropped off a lot.
It works for me, Try it You'll like the results.
9/6/13

I got the same vmail this week....this is BS as they appear to be targeting people of East Indian origin (based on name) and the guy clearly had an Indian accent.  Any real government agency would send legal correspondence by registered or 1st class mail before taking any action, and that action would need to be based on a court order signed by a judge.......not to mention that any action costs money and opens them up to legal defenses and potential harassment claims.  I won't be calling these POS's back since they may just confirm my number is valid and try to sell it along with their other responders to other scammers.  If you have the misfortune of talking to these maggots live, please give them a verbal punch-in-the-face.   In addition, please warn your elderly parents and grandparents about this scam so they don't fret unnecessarily...we know how the older generations can be taken advantage of.

I got a similar call from 214 416 0423

8Aug 2013
he called & left phone no  so I called back  and had aback groud voice like a court hearing. then a guy asked couple questations and same IRS  money and settlement and investigationt etc. I asked when did you sent court order , he said 4/23/2013 and again asked how come i did not get? he said he will call police and will arrest you. i replied go ahead. later i checked and found out scamer , so i called backed and called them
MF,SOB, C*** Sucker etc whatever i have heard before. so do like this if them if some people like they call you.this is the best way to hit back and report FBI

To day I received a call from 845 842 2019  caller idendified as officer Alex Martin from State Investigation Dept.
They gave my name and name of my wife (that was wrong), she told me that I ow money of IRS and other charges pending against me. They offered if I want they can settle out of the court, if not ready to settle out  of the court then they will cancil my citizonship and get me arrested and deport me.
My reply was I ow nothing and I am not a criminal if U want I can see you in the court. After this she hang up on me.

I received a call today on my answering machine. The message was mostly inaudible due to a heavy accent. He stated his name as Officer Alton Adams Clark from State Department of Investigations. Something about they received the case against me and will keep my kids. He talked about my son's team being very fancy.
VERY SCARY! When I called back I was asked for my phone number, when I provided the number they called me on, he called me a LIAR! Then he said my wife is very ugly and sick. Then I was transferred to another man who threatened me. Dont answer their calls!!

Received a call from 626-236-5675 with these guys telling me that I owed taxes. They had the right phone number and address, but still needed to verify some information. 845-842-2019 was given as a call back number. I called and asked them to meet me at the local precinct. Officer "Walter" had the nerve to tell me that he'll see me behind the bars! Funny thing is that they're answering the calls on first ring; there is no way any government agency answers the call on the first ring with a human on the other end! I have reported them to IRS and will escalate if they call back. Just beware and firm when dealing with these people.

Got call from officer lara smith about some investigation. Should have checked internet before calling back. Oh well! Thanks everyone for posting.

This morning ,I received a call from a guy in a funny accent, telling me that he was calling from the Office of The State Investigator of Jack Greene,and my name and identity was under investigation ,and I had to call them back immediately.Frankly , at first, I was frightened  by the call, for I have never been in legal trouble in my life,and receiving a call from the office of the State Investigator.After finding this page , and reading the comments ,I feel better now , and know just exactly what to do.I will ignore the call.845-842-2019.And also 626-236-5675.

You receive a phone call or paper letter via mail from an individual claiming to be the IRS but you suspect they are not an IRS employee ?    
Phone call:
Ask for a call back number and employee badge number.
Contact the IRS to determine if the caller is an IRS employee with a legitimate need to contact you.
If you determine the person calling you is an IRS employee with a legitimate need to contact you, call them back.
Letter or notice via paper mail:
Contact the IRS to determine if the mail is a legitimate IRS letter.
If it is a legitimate IRS letter, reply if needed.
If caller or party that sent the paper letter is not legitimate, contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1.800.366.4484.

You can also send an email to phishing@irs.gov

I also got the same call. please call 1-800-366-4484 to report to the US Department of Treasury

I got the similar call today.
First of all the address they gave me was my old address and IRS has my new address.
Second, they don't accept check. IRS never does that.
Third, they were too impatient, and didn't want to give me details.

One thing I'm not sure how these people are getting escaped in spite of having a valid phone number to track them. I'm going to make a police report. I encourage all of you to do that so that these kinds of activities get proper attention.

They called my home phone and said the same thing as others have reported, Officer "Adam Scott" sounded like a Hispanic accent to me, particularly from the way in which they pronounced my name..  Asked for a call back regarding a sensitive legal matter in the state of california and if I did not call back, he would proceed with his normal process.  I am of South Asian decent, I wonder how they have figured that should target us.  Needless to say, when my wife heard the message, she was very distressed.

Just called him again and said I was a Police Officer and had received a complaint about him. Promptly put the phone down. Would advise readers to call him and give him a piece of their mind.

I was called about the same thing. Called him back after reading these messages. Called him three times using various voices and aliases and strung him along for a long time before asking him detailed questions about who he was. The phone was promptly hung up as soon as I asked for more details.

my client received a call from above number.  was told he had underpaid his 2008 tax by $4,000.   Was told that he did not pay up; he would be deported.

Got call from Alex Martin, returned phone call, they said he would call me back and told me that I am a criminal, he is not allowed to speak me and have to wait for Alex Martin to call me...very strange. I feel like I am harassed. If he calls me again, I will report it to NY Attorney General.

Just got the call yesterday and I could here people in the background speaking Hindi. I strung him along for a bit and mentioned that I work for the Federal Bureau. Promptly hung up and no calls since.

Exact same type of call and approach as below.  
I called my accountant and attorney to double check the scam and they confirmed.  fortunately, no information was given as there were no written notices.

I received a similar message as others.  thanks to all of you who reported this....so I dont have to experience the same anxiety.

Received a similar call yesterday from the number 845-842-2019. The guy who spoke threatened that I have missed a tax return and they have an arrest warrant . Once he failed to get more personal details from my side he tried to hang up saying that he is transferring the call to the state police department. Any idea how to stop this fraudulant activity?

Most of the targeted persons seem to be of Indian origin.

I got a call today from the same number saying that my name and identity is under investigation. I should call them back otherwise I would be responsible for a legal action against me.

It used heavy accent.

Got call, person said i hv ARREST WARRANT against me. Its  a scam to make you wire them money. DO NOT fall for it

I received a call from a number 1-626-236-5675 the username that came up on the phone is Alhambra. Just like the above messages it said, "I am officer Jack Rein, you are under legal investigation. You need to call at 845-842-2019".

I got a call from this number saying that Officer Lara was calling because my name and identity are under investigation and that she is from the California Department of Education. She went on to say that if I don't call her back the Department will take legal action against me. Since I am a teacher I got really scared and called the number back but couldn't get through. So I decided to call the California Department of Education and they said it sounds like a scam because the employees at the CDE leave their first and last name with the 916 area code.

Received three calls from 845-842-2019. I was told that there is a legal affidavit against me along with an arrest warrant. I called back this number and spoke to two individuals who identified themselves as officers of the State Investigation Department located in New York - Officer Alan Walton and Daniel Smith. Both of them spoke in a South-east Asian accent. The latter person listed a number of so-called violations I committed including non-payment of State Tax, some breach of contract with the IRS and unless I cooperated legal proceedings will be taken. When I refused to divulge any information this person hung up saying that he is going to see me in court. Who are these people!!!!