Middlesex Sheriff’s Office Warns of IRS Telephone Scam

The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office is warning citizens of a telephone scam involving an individual – or individuals – fraudulently claiming to be a Middlesex Deputy Sheriff collecting money owed to the Internal Revenue Service.

“We want citizens to be aware of this scam so they can properly protect themselves,” said Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian. “The public should be assured these calls are not legitimate.”

The Office has been notified of three incidents in the last week in which a caller has fraudulently claimed to be a Deputy with the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office. In two of the incidents, the caller claimed to be collecting money owed to the IRS and threatened arrest if the money was not paid immediately by credit card.

Making these calls even more believable for those on the receiving end, the scammer allegedly provided two call back telephone numbers to the intended victims, including the legitimate numbers to the administrative office of the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office (781-960-2800) and the IRS telephone assistance line (1-800-829-1040).

Similar scams are occurring all over the country and all too often, victims lose hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of dollars. Fortunately, none of the three people who reported the scam calls to the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office provided the callers with any credit card or bank information and none lost any money.

“No one should ever be scammed out of their hard-earned money,” said Sheriff Koutoujian. “Middlesex Sheriff’s Deputies will never demand money over the phone and will never threaten arrest in such a manner.”

The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office is advising anyone who receives similar calls that they should not give any personal information to the caller and should immediately report the call to their local police department. We also ask that you contact the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office Investigation Unit at 978-932-3220 and file an online complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov.