Police warn of ‘IRS’ scams

Hawaii Island police are warning the public about phone scams from criminals claiming to be the Internal Revenue Service.

A Kona man reported he received a call on his cellphone from a man claiming to work for the IRS. The caller told the victim that he owed back taxes and instructed him to go to a specific drug store and purchase four Western Union vouchers for $500 each and then provide the caller with the voucher numbers. He told the victim to stay on the line with him until he bought the vouchers.

When the victim became suspicious and said he was going to call the police, he was told he would be arrested if he hung up. The victim hung up anyway and immediately received another call.

His caller ID showed the incoming phone number as 326-4646, the number of the Kona police station. When the victim answered his phone, the caller told him the police were on their way to arrest him.

The victim drove to the Kona police station to determine if the call was legitimate and learned it was a scam.

There are cellphone apps that can send a false caller ID number.

A second victim reported he received a similar call from someone claiming to be from the IRS. The victim suspected the call was bogus and hung up the phone. The IRS imposter called back and told the victim that he didn’t appear to be taking the problem seriously, and that he needed to confirm that he was the right person. The caller then asked the victim for his name, date of birth, Social Security number and bank account number.

These scams are designed to obtain personal and financial information or to persuade the recipient to wire money to the impostors.

Police urge the public not to comply with instructions or divulge any information if they receive a call from someone claiming to represent the IRS.