By Al Rettig, ARCRA Board

            The phone rings and it's someone saying they're from the Internal Revenue Service.

            The IRS is absolutely unequivocal in its advice: Hang up. It's as simple as that.

            Telephone scams targeting seniors are rampant, because the elderly are seen as easy targets, more readily subject to the bullying of con artists who falsely claim to represent the IRS, and who use intimidating tactics to frighten you into believing you owe back taxes.

            How can you be sure that it's not really the IRS? Simple. The IRS does not initiate contacts with taxpayers by phone. They do it by letter. So if you're not already dealing with the IRS on a tax issue, you can safely assume the phone call is fraudulent--and illegal too.

            It's understandable that some seniors are rattled by these high-pressure con artists, and we know of examples in our own ARCRA family where folks have become terribly upset, thinking that they are in serious trouble. But it is important not to engage with these people. Never give them a credit card or debit card number, bank account number, or any other financial information. Again, it's best if you don't even let them get to the point of asking for these things. As soon as they say they're from the IRS, do what at least one ARCRA member did and say, "No you're not!" and hang up.

   Even if you're not sure whether you owe taxes, the IRS says to hang up on these callers anyway. Then call 800-829-1040, where real IRS workers can help you with your payment questions. Finally the IRS encourages all who get these calls to complete an "IRS Impersonation Scam" form online at www.tigta.gov. If you can retrieve the caller ID data from your phone and enter it on the form it will help the IRS track down these criminals and put them out of business.

            So when the "IRS" calls unexpectedly, don't be intimidated, don't be afraid and don't listen to their pitch. Simply hang up and take a deep breath. You've just foiled a scam artist.