Tax season is prime time for scammers to impersonate IRS agents, tax specialists or professionals, and collection agencies. The contact is most commonly made by phone, but can also take place by text message or e-mail. These scammers use both scare tactics and generous offers to get their victims to act.

You should know – the IRS (and its authorized private collection agencies) will never:

– Threaten arrest or a lawsuit for failure to pay.

– Demand taxes be paid without the opportunity to question or appeal the request.

– Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

– Call to demand immediate payment via prepaid debit card, gift card, wire transfer, bit coin, or cryptocurrency. The IRS does not use these methods for tax payments.

Generally, the IRS will first mail a bill to any taxpayer who owes taxes. Tax payments should only be made payable to the U.S. Department of Treasury. Checks should never be made payable to third parties.

If you think you might owe money to the IRS, you can check with the IRS directly – for free — by going to the IRS website to view your tax account. If you owe back taxes and want to make a payment, you can send money to the IRS directly from your bank account or you can apply for a payment plan.

For more information on IRS and tax scams, go to the IRS Scams Page at Tax Scams/Consumer Alerts or to the Michigan Attorney General’s alert page for IRS Phone and Email Scams.