Scam Alerts

Common Scams:

IRS Scams

There’s a common scam going around these days involving people calling you and claiming to be an IRS agent. These scammers claim you owe back taxes and are often very aggressive and threaten to have you arrested if you don’t pay them over the phone. Don’t fall for this scam.

The IRS does not collect money over the phone. If you owe the IRS money they will correspond with you through registered mail. If you do receive one of these calls do not provide them with any information. They will often call back even after you’ve told them you are not going to give them any money. You’re best bet to end the calls is to tell them that they have the wrong number. They know they can’t collect “back taxes” from a wrong number and will most likely move on to the next name and number on their list.

If you have been a victim of this scam you can file a complaint with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) by…

Calling 800-366-4484 or

filling out their online form.

Fake Debt Collector Scams

Some scammers will call pretending to be a legitimate debt collector.  These can be hard to spot.  Since delinquent debts like credit card debt, pay day loans, etc. can be sold to collection agencies it can be hard to keep track of who's who.  There are many variations of these fake debt collection scams that target different types of debt, but a common thread is that the scammers are very pushy often threatening legal action if you don’t pay immediately over the phone.

Check Overpayment Scams

From the NH Attorney General…

The scams work like this: Someone responds to your posting or ad, and offers to use a cashier’s check, personal check or corporate check to pay for the item you’re selling. At the last minute, the so-called buyer (or the buyer’s “agent”) comes up with a reason for writing the check for more than the purchase price, and asks you to wire back the difference after you deposit the check. You deposit the check and wire the funds back to the “buyers.” Later, the check bounces, leaving you liable for the entire amount.

Tech Support Scams

A new type of scam that is making the rounds is the “Tech Support Scam”.  Criminals will call you and claim to be from a reputable company like Microsoft and tell you that they have detected that your computer is infected with a virus.  They then will then try to get you to pay to have the virus removed or for some maintenance or warrant plan, or they may try to get you to go to a website that will actually infect your computer and give the scammer remote access to it.  Like other scammers they usually become aggressive until they get what they want.

Real tech support departments don’t call you.  If you get one of these calls hang up, do not follow any of their directions and do not give them any information.  Do not be fooled by caller ID if it shows up saying Microsoft Inc.  Caller ID can easily be faked.  If you want to look into it further, you contact the real company through an official channel.  You can usually find a phone number or email address on the software manual or on the companies website.

Fraud and Scam Resources:

FTC Scam Alerts

File a Fraud Alert with the FTC

NH Attorney General Consumer Protection

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center

Better Business Bureau Scam Alerts