WASHINGTON (AP) - The Treasury Department says it arrested five people in Miami accused of defrauding victims of nearly $2 million by posing as IRS agents and demanding payment of overdue taxes.
J. Russell George heads the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration office. He said Tuesday that the five defrauded about 1,500 victims.
The IRS has called similar impersonators the largest such scam in agency history. George said overall, 1.2 million Americans have reported receiving such calls. Around 6,400 of them have reported being cheated out of $36.5 million.
The callers pose as IRS or Treasury agents and demand immediate payment of overdue taxes, threatening arrest if they don't.
George said some scammers now demand that people pay using iTunes or other prepaid debit cards.
