IRS phone scam persists

Hawaii’s Better Business Bureau is warning the public to be aware of a popular phone scam.

The organization has seen “a huge uptick” in reports of the scam during the past year, BBB Hawaii spokesman Jason Kama said Friday. Those targeted typically receive a call from someone pretending to be an agent from the Internal Revenue Service and claiming the victim owes money or taxes.

Information from the BBB’s online “Scam Tracker” tool shows there have been more than 6,000 tax impostor scams since January, including 276 in Hawaii. Most were reported on Oahu, but 10 have been reported in the Hilo area.

In 2015, the BBB received 3,324 tax impostor reports nationally, including 127 in Hawaii and eight on the Big Island.

“Usually, traffic on the IRS scam is kind of moderate, but it’s been pretty heavy over the past year,” Kama said. “… I think scammers use it because it’s unfortunately effective. People answer the phone, and they get scared.”

A Hilo resident was among those recently targeted. The resident told the Tribune-Herald he received a phone call from a Washington, D.C., number early Friday morning from a person claiming to be an IRS agent. He said he was asked by the scammer to spell his name.

“I didn’t spell it, and he got upset,” he said. “I said you should have that on record.”

Kama said scammers often get victim information by running background checks or purchasing lists of names. He advises people to avoid sharing any personal information or sending money without first verifying the person calling is legitimate.

“Basically, in different types of scams, they’re searching for a way to get enough information to perpetrate identity theft,” Kama said. “The thing we tell people is 99.99999 percent of the time, it’s a scam. Because the IRS’s basic mode of reaching out to you initially is generally through mail.”

The Hawaii Police Department issued a warning earlier this year also reminding the public to be aware of the IRS scam. An employee with the department told the Tribune-Herald on Friday they get reports “all the time” about the IRS scam and it’s “pretty common.”

HPD’s warning says those targeted should follow instructions from the official IRS website. Those instructions say if you receive a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, you should record their name, badge number, call back number and caller ID, if available. You should then call 1-800-366-4484 to determine if the caller is an IRS employee. If they’re not, you should report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the IRS at phishing@irs.gov with the subject “IRS Phone Scam.”

Scams also can be reported to the BBB online via its “Scam Tracker” tool at bbb.org/scamtracker.

“In doing those things, you create a record,” Kama said.

Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.