By FIRST SGT. CHAD HILL,
Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department

The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department is warning the public of a scam that has moved to the community again and involves people claiming to be from the IRS.

Deputies are investigating a phone scam involving callers who impersonate Internal Revenue Service representatives and demand immediate payments with pre-paid debit cards and wire transfers.

The caller often claims the victim owes thousands of dollars in overdue taxes. However, according to the IRS, the agency would always make contact with the taxpayer first by mail or with a personal visit.

As the scam continues, the caller says standard forms of payment cannot be used and instead specifies using a credit card to pay the taxes. The caller tries to justify why the money has to be wired to a PayPal account or paid using a prepaid debit card.

The caller will often threaten the possibility of a warrant for their arrest, which is not true. Sheriff Rovenstine advises that citizens are advised to simply hang-up, and to not provide any personal information to the caller. Rovenstine also stated that it is only necessary to contact law enforcement if you have had an actual loss of potential funds to the scam.  He also stated that the scam has escalated this week, and some of the callers are also saying that they represent “Homeland Security” which is not true.