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IRS Phone Scam Targeting Local Residents

FORT SMITH (KFSM)-Scammers pretending to be with the IRS are targeting victims nationwide, but many of those people are right here in our area. Bill Kirkwood an...

FORT SMITH (KFSM)-Scammers pretending to be with the IRS are targeting victims nationwide, but many of those people are right here in our area.

Bill Kirkwood and his wife told 5NEWS they were the target of one.

“We received a recording the first time, saying we owed money to the IRS and we needed to call a phone number back,” he said.

Kirkwood said when he called the number back a man on the phone told him there was a warrant out for his arrest because he owed the IRS $3,400.

“In the meantime we called the police department, and they told us to just hang up on them it was a scam,” he said.

Cindy Bryant of Van Buren said she received a similar call on Wednesday (Dec. 10).

“He's like it has to be taken care of today, there will be agents sent to your doorstep to arrest you tonight,” she said.

Both Bryant and Kirkwood said the caller had an accent and called from a 202 area code. 5NEWS called the number left on Kirkwood’s answering machine.

A man answered the phone claiming to be a crime investigation division. He said they don’t ask people for money, when we asked.

“We just prompt them that they are under investigation for tax fraud,” the man said.

After we asked for more information about what his organization does, we were soon hung up on.

The IRS website warms scam artists may be convincing and even threatening, but they will only contact you through a certified letter in the mail if you owe them money.

Sebastian County Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck said if you become victim of a scam, contact local law enforcement immediately.

“Don`t send money,” he said. “Don`t give credit card info or any type of banking information to anyone.”

Authorities said they are forwarding reported incidents along to the FBI.

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