The IRS Phone Call Scam Explained

What is the IRS phone call scam?

Someone calls you claiming they work for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and you owe the back taxes or they are asking for your Social Security Number (SSN). This is a scam to try and extort money from you or a phishing attempt to try and steal your identity. The IRS will NEVER call you out of the blue stating you owe back taxes or ask for your personal information. The IRS will only send notices of back owed taxes through the mail and it will come on official letterhead.

The caller will say they are someone with an official title like "Officer" and claim you are going to be sued, you have a warrant for your arrest, your property will be seized, freeze your bank accounts, your wages will be garnished or a lien/judgement will be placed against you. They will tell you any number of scary things trying to get you to do what they say. The caller could have a thick sounding accent or use broken english as most of these scammers are not even located in the United States. They will tell you they can make it all go away for a "one-time" payment of a specific amount of money payable to an account they specify. Often they will tell you to pay them in gift cards or pre-paid credit cards, most of which are untraceable.

Beware because, in addition to trying to extort money from you, they are often also after your Social Security Number or personal information for which they will use to steal your identity. Whatever you do, do not pay them or give them any of your information!

What should I do when I get a call?

Stay calm and resist the pressure to act quickly. Get their information and then tell the caller you will call them back, but DO NOT call the number they called you from. They will probably yell and threaten you for even asking for their information. Ignore them and insist they give you their information. If they don't give you their info, you can assume it is a scam and hang up on them. If they did give you their information, call the official IRS number at 1-800-366-4484 to validate if the caller was really from the IRS. In nearly all cases, you're going to find that it wasn't a real call from the IRS.

If you feel threatened, call your local police department and file a police report.

What can you to help stop this?

  1. Report the phone number to the IRS. They have a special website setup just for this. You can find it here: TIGTA
  2. Search for the phone number on CallReceived.com and report the number here as well, as we're keeping track of the phone numbers these scammers are using.

IRS Phone Numbers

Per the IRS website:

Customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, unless otherwise noted. Residents of Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific time. Puerto Rico phone lines are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time.

Individuals:
1-800-829-1040

Businesses:
1-800-829-4933

See their contact page for more detailed information: IRS Telephone Contact
You can also contact your local IRS office by using this form: Find Your Local IRS Office

How many reports do you have about the IRS scam in the last 12 months?

We created this chart so you can see the volume:

What phone numbers have been reported recently?

Phone Number # of Reports Most Recent Report
734-943-1861103/03/2021 12:52 pm
585-441-4614102/19/2021 3:33 pm
647-600-8102102/02/2021 7:56 am
519-572-4365101/20/2021 8:00 am
604-839-3694101/19/2021 2:21 pm
587-298-6858101/05/2021 2:37 pm
780-902-6962112/15/2020 3:27 pm
647-270-5739112/10/2020 7:32 pm
250-710-4738111/10/2020 1:23 pm
512-618-1846111/10/2020 11:36 am
647-524-6324111/03/2020 10:22 am
201-877-5857110/26/2020 7:35 am
860-334-5336110/01/2020 10:52 am
613-909-1386109/26/2020 6:35 am
647-718-3669109/22/2020 10:27 am
586-303-4568108/21/2020 11:03 am
416-909-0449108/20/2020 12:15 pm
204-396-6560108/14/2020 10:48 am
631-257-0534108/13/2020 10:51 am
581-999-3542108/07/2020 1:48 pm
323-320-6443108/06/2020 8:11 am
780-953-5424107/15/2020 12:02 pm
647-219-3955107/15/2020 12:16 am
604-674-2421107/14/2020 10:35 am
514-464-4943107/13/2020 1:51 pm
289-689-3611107/10/2020 9:28 am
336-656-9717107/04/2020 6:07 pm
416-806-2010107/03/2020 9:09 am
415-806-2010107/03/2020 9:05 am
719-309-0721106/25/2020 11:06 am

What states have the most IRS scam calls?

Country State # of Reports Most Recent Report
USANew York38602/19/2021
USACalifornia37508/06/2020
CanadaOntario 14502/02/2021
USATexas14411/10/2020
USAWashington11712/04/2019
USAFlorida7709/13/2019
USANew Jersey6410/26/2020
USAPennsylvania5512/04/2019
USAWashington DC5309/04/2018
USAColorado5106/25/2020
USAGeorgia4805/03/2019
USANorth Carolina4707/04/2020
USAOhio4312/11/2019
USAIllinois4301/22/2019
USAVermont3312/06/2018
USAVirginia3205/07/2019
USAMissouri3211/05/2019
USAArizona3008/23/2018
USAMassachusetts3011/22/2018
USAMaryland2810/03/2019
USAKentucky2708/18/2018
USALouisiana2604/02/2018
USANew Mexico2609/23/2016
USAMichigan2503/03/2021
USAMinnesota2409/27/2018
USATennessee2207/12/2018
CanadaBritish Columbia 2001/19/2021
USAOregon2011/20/2018
USANorth Dakota1909/19/2016
USAAlabama1906/30/2017
USAWisconsin1709/06/2017
CanadaQuebec 1608/07/2020
USAIowa1503/26/2019
USAOklahoma1505/26/2017
USAIndiana1412/14/2018
USASouth Carolina1305/02/2017
USAMaine1309/23/2016
USANevada1103/23/2020
1001/07/2020
USAKansas1010/05/2018
CanadaAlberta 801/05/2021
USADelaware703/27/2019
USAUtah701/07/2019
USANew Hampshire707/29/2016
USAWest Virginia609/17/2018
USAArkansas611/20/2018
USAMississippi601/23/2018
CanadaManitoba 608/14/2020
USAConnecticut610/01/2020
CanadaNewfoundland508/22/2019
USANebraska307/06/2018
USAMontana305/15/2018
USASouth Dakota208/05/2018
USAHawaii208/24/2016
CanadaSaskatchewan 206/14/2017
USARhode Island109/21/2018
USAAlaska106/09/2016

Recent IRS Scam Comments

734-943-1861

March 3, 2021 12:52 pm

I R S scam

Caller Type: IRS Scam

585-441-4614

February 19, 2021 3:33 pm

SS scare = BS !

Caller or Company: SS

Caller Type: IRS Scam

647-600-8102

February 2, 2021 7:56 am

Revenue canada scam

Caller Type: IRS Scam

519-572-4365

January 20, 2021 8:00 am

Service Canada to arrest me

Caller or Company: Service Canada

Caller Type: IRS Scam

604-839-3694

January 19, 2021 2:21 pm

Revenue Canada fraud call.

Caller Type: IRS Scam

587-298-6858

January 5, 2021 2:37 pm

Spam call - "warrant out for your arrest" "require your social insurance number"

Caller Type: IRS Scam

780-902-6962

December 15, 2020 3:27 pm

SIN scam.

Caller Type: IRS Scam

647-270-5739

December 10, 2020 7:32 pm

Fraudster pretending to be from government

Caller Type: IRS Scam

250-710-4738

November 10, 2020 1:23 pm

said I was going to get arrested for federal fraud

Caller Type: IRS Scam

512-618-1846

November 10, 2020 11:36 am

this is me

Caller or Company: 5126181846

Caller Type: IRS Scam

647-524-6324

November 3, 2020 10:22 am

Fraud from supposedly Service Canada in regards to the Social Insurance Number

Caller Type: IRS Scam

201-877-5857

October 26, 2020 7:35 am

This is a spam for sure. It keeps.calling me about my get my refund.

Caller or Company: 2018775862

Caller Type: IRS Scam

860-334-5336

October 1, 2020 10:52 am

Yeah, I got a call listing this number from "Social Security"

Caller or Company: Social Security

Caller Type: IRS Scam

613-909-1386

September 26, 2020 6:35 am

Scam scam scam

Caller or Company: CRA Scam

Caller Type: IRS Scam

647-718-3669

September 22, 2020 10:27 am

Scam

Caller Type: IRS Scam

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