Michigan taxpayers are being warned not to fall for the latest phone scam. The Michigan Treasury Department’s Danelle Gittus says, in this case, the calls are being received from a legitimate Grand Rapids-area Treasury phone number, which has apparently been cloned by the scammers. The caller tells the would-be victim that they owe back taxes, and then demands immediate payment or the victim faces arrest. Gittus says falling for it just means getting ripped off.
“They could end up wire transferring funds to somebody or providing them pre-paid debit cards or access to their finances in some way which we would not want them to be doing,” Gittus told WSJM.
Even though a legitimate treasury phone number is being spoofed in this case, Gittus says the thing to keep in mind is that the treasury department never calls people demanding immediate payment.
“Treasury would always start with a written request,” Gittus said.
Anyone who has fallen for such a call should notify police. Everyone else should just hang up.
