Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is warning Ohioans to beware of threatening calls, in which the caller says they are from the IRS as the April 15 tax filing deadline approaches. In the past week along, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office has received more than 100 reports of IRS-related scams from consumers across the state. In a typical IRS imposter scam, a con artist calls a consumer claiming to represent the IRS. The caller said the consumer owes money for back taxes or is under investigation for tax fraud. The consumer is told to call a specific phone number immediately in order to avoid arrest or legal charges. Eventually the consumer is asked to send money using a prepaid card or wire transfer to correct the issue. Once the money is sent, it is nearly impossible to recover. According to recent reports of this scam, consumers often receive a call from one out-of-state phone number and are told to call a different out-of-state number, such as one with a 202 (Washington, D.C.) area code, a 360 (Washington state) area code or a 347 (New York) area code. To report a potential scam or unfair business practice, consumers should contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at 800–282-0515 or www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.
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