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Yorktown Police Warn Of IRS Telephone Scam

YORKTOWN, N.Y. -- Yorktown police are warning residents to protect themselves against callers posing as IRS agents who are targeting taxpayers, especially recent immigrants.

Yorktown Police are warning residents to be wary of scammers posing as IRS agents.

Yorktown Police are warning residents to be wary of scammers posing as IRS agents.

Photo Credit: File Photo

The impostors threaten the victims with deportation, jail, or the loss of their driver’s or business licenses if they don’t pay up.

The callers may also “spoof” caller ID services to make it look as if they are calling from the actual agency, police said.

Scammers often research their targets online to pick up some personal details about them, such as their age and the names of family members, to make the intended victim believe they have official access to their tax records, according to police.

They may even use official Internal Revenue Service titles and give out a badge number to identify themselves.

If they can’t get through to their intended victims the first time, they will often leave “urgent” call-back messages, police said.

Police said that scammers usually demand payment through an online service or untraceable cash or pre-loaded debit card.

Sometimes they will direct the target to go to a bank or convenience store to make the payment through a wire service such as Western Union.

The real IRS does not call, text or email people asking for personal information, nor does it demand immediate payment, threaten to bring in the police, or require people to pay in a certain way, police said.

If people suspect they have been contacted by a scammer, the best reaction is to hang up and notify their local police departments.

Yorktown police can be reached by calling (914)-962-4141.

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