Police Warn Public of IRS Impersonator Phone Scams

Hawaiʻi Island police are warning the public about continuing phone scams.

Residents have reported receiving calls from an automated message, which threatens arrest by local authorities due to a tax filing discrepancy.

Potential victims are advised to respond via phone and further instructed to send money via electronic money transfers.

Instructions from the official IRS website say that if you receive a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, you should:

• Record the employee’s name, employee identification number, call-back number and caller ID, if available.
• Call 1-800-366-4484 to determine if the caller is an IRS employee with a legitimate need to contact you.
• If the person calling you is an IRS employee, call them back.
• If not, report the incident to the IRS at www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing.

For State of Hawaiʻi tax-related queries, visit http://tax.hawaii.gov/contact.

The public is reminded to never provide any personal information (to include birth dates, social security numbers, credit card information and bank information, etc.), to anyone.

If you believe you have been contacted by a person involved in a scam, call the police non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311.