IRS Scammers Demand Tax Payments on Gift Cards

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration warned Tuesday about a new twist in the IRS impersonation scam, with fraudsters pretending to be Internal Revenue Service employees demanding taxpayers send them tax payments not only on iTunes gift cards, but on other types of gift cards as well.

TIGTA issued an alert in April saying it has received information that callers impersonating IRS employees or the Treasury Department are demanding payments on iTunes gift cards (see IRS Scammers Demand Payments on iTunes Gift Cards).

In addition to gift cards, TIGTA said the scammers may also request payment of taxes on Green Dot Prepaid Cards, MoneyPak Prepaid Cards, Reloadit Prepaid Debit Cards, and other prepaid credit cards. It reiterated that these are fraudulent calls.

“As a reminder, any call requesting that taxpayers place funds on an iTunes Gift Card or other gift cards to pay taxes and fees is an indicator of fraudulent activity!” said the alert. “No legitimate United States Treasury or IRS official will demand that payments via Western Union, MoneyGram, bank wire transfers, or bank deposits be made into another person’s account for any debt to the IRS or Treasury. Hang up on these fraudulent callers and go to the TIGTA scam reporting page to report the call.”

TIGTA has also posted videos warning taxpayers to beware of the scam.