GTPD warns students of IRS spoofing scam

*********************************
There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
*********************************

Atlanta, GA | Posted: August 12, 2016

Contact

Lance Wallace

lance.wallace@comm.gatech.edu

Sidebar Content
No sidebar content submitted.
Summaries

Summary Sentence:

GTPD shares FBI warning about IRS spoofing scam targeting college students.

Full Summary:

Since tax season, a scam has gone around the country in which callers attempt to persuade students to put money on gift cards and make other forms of payment to meet a previously unknown “federal student tax.”

Media
  • Georgia Tech Police Patch Georgia Tech Police Patch
    (image/jpeg)

Since tax season, a scam has gone around the country in which callers attempt to persuade students to put money on gift cards and make other forms of payment to meet a previously unknown “federal student tax.”

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) multiple universities have been targeted. Some examples of the varied tactics seen this year are:

  • Demanding immediate tax payment for taxes owed on an iTunes gift card.
  • Soliciting W-2 information from payroll and human resources professionals (IR-2016-34) 
  • “Verifying” tax return information over the phone (IR-2016-40) 
  • Pretending to be from the tax preparation industry (IR-2016-28) 

The Georgia Tech Police Department (GTPD) reminds students that the IRS will never call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill. They will not threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

The IRS also will not demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe, and they certainly will not require you to pay your taxes using a specific payment method for your taxes such as a prepaid debit card. Asking for credit or debit card numbers over the phone is another give-away that something is amiss.

 

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money and you don’t owe taxes, here’s what you should do:

  • Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.
  • Notify GTPD by calling 404-894-2500.
  • Contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) to report the call. Use their IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting web page or call 800-366-4484.
  • Report the call to the Federal Trade Commission by visiting FTC.gov and clicking on “File a Consumer Complaint.” Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.
  • If you think you might owe taxes, still do not give out any information. Hang up and call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040.

 

Related Links

Additional Information

Groups

News Room

Categories
Institute and Campus, Student and Faculty
Related Core Research Areas
No core research areas were selected.
Newsroom Topics
Campus and Community
Keywords
fbi, Georgia Tech Police Department, GTPD, IRS, scam, warning
Status
  • Created By: Lance Wallace
  • Workflow Status: Published
  • Created On: Aug 12, 2016 - 10:39am
  • Last Updated: Oct 7, 2016 - 11:22pm