Local police are warning against an income tax enforcement scam.
Opp Police Chief Mike McDonald said that people are calling residents and advising that they are officers with the federal treasury department.
“They tell you that your 2015 tax returns were illegal and that if you don’t take care of the problem with them you will have to appear before a federal judge or a federal judge magistrate.”
McDonald said the following observations have been made from these calls:
• The caller spoke English with a heavy accent;
• In the background, you could heard many voices like the caller was working in a call center;
• When one returns the phone call, no one answers. However they will call back quickly.
“When the caller was told that we would track him down he replied, ‘Try to hunt me down,’” McDonald said. “He then began to shout in what sounded like Arabic and I believe he made reference to something about camel, which of course, indicates that these calls are coming from outside of the United States.”
Additionally, when quizzed, McDonald said the guy did not know the Auburn University or University of Alabama mascots and he had no idea which forces did battle in the American Civil War.
“I’m saddened to report that the gentleman became frustrated again,” he said. “The fact is that some people fall pretty to these kind of criminal scams. If the federal or state government wants to talk to you about a tax problem or anything else, they won’t call you on the phone. They will send you a letter and/or come see you. Whether they send you a letter or show up in person, verify who they are. Do not release any personal information or financial information to these criminals.”