Tax Scammers Netting Millions

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Fake Internal Revenue Service agents have now duped more than 3,000 people out of $15.5 million since October 2013, the Associated Press reported today.

“In testimony before Congress Thursday, Timothy Camus, U.S. Treasury deputy inspector general, called it the biggest scam of its kind in the history of the IRS, according to the AP report.

These scammers have now targeted more than 366,000 individuals, including people in every state, by demanding payments and threatening jail time.

Camus said two who were arrested in Florida are accused of being part of a scam involving IRS agent impersonators in call centers in India.

“These criminal acts are perpetrated by thieves hiding behind telephone lines and computers, preying on honest taxpayers and robbing the Treasury of tens of billions of dollars every year,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said in a statement at the start of this morning’s hearing.

But while it’s the federal government’s job to find and prosecute the scammers, Hatch urged the public to become more aware of tax scam risks so they can better protect themselves.

Have you been contacted by tax scammers? Do you think you’d fall for a tax scam? Share your thoughts in a comment below or on Facebook.

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