Deidre Stepter of the New Orleans office of the IRS joined 'Mornings With Ken and Bernie' today to warn of a new scam that threatens IRS action.

According to Stepter,

This a very sophisticated scam targeting primarily recent immigrants but it's also targeting other taxpayers as well.

When asked to explain how the scam worked Stepter said,

They're using fake IRS names and badge numbers so they're appearing to be with the IRS.  They're even spoofing caller id numbers so the numbers appear to be coming from the IRS toll-free number.

We asked Stepter to explain how the scam was being executed and she replied,

They're telling people you owe money to the IRS and it must be paid immediately...They demand payment that day by wire transfer or prepaid debit card.  If the victim refuses to pay they threaten arrest or deportation.

Stepter said if someone receives one of these calls it should be reported to the IRS or the FTC.

Listen to the interview:

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