{"562371":{"#nid":"562371","#data":{"type":"news","title":"GTPD warns students of IRS spoofing scam","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESince tax season, a scam has gone around the country in which callers attempt to persuade students to put money on gift cards and make other forms of payment to meet a previously unknown \u201cfederal student tax.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) multiple universities have been targeted. Some examples of the varied tactics seen this year are:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDemanding immediate tax payment for taxes owed on an iTunes gift card.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESoliciting W-2 information from payroll and human resources professionals (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/uac\/newsroom\/irs-alerts-payroll-and-hr-professionals-to-phishing-scheme-involving-w2s\u0022\u003EIR-2016-34\u003C\/a\u003E)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u201cVerifying\u201d tax return information over the phone (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/uac\/newsroom\/consumer-alert-scammers-change-tactics-once-again\u0022\u003EIR-2016-40\u003C\/a\u003E)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPretending to be from the tax preparation industry (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/uac\/newsroom\/consumers-warned-of-new-surge-in-irs-email-schemes-during-2016-tax-season-tax-industry-also-targeted\u0022\u003EIR-2016-28\u003C\/a\u003E)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech Police Department (GTPD) reminds students that the IRS will never call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill. They will not threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe IRS also will not demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe, and they certainly will not require you to pay your taxes using a specific payment method for your taxes such as a prepaid debit card. Asking for credit or debit card numbers over the phone is another give-away that something is amiss.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money and you don\u2019t owe taxes, here\u2019s what you should do:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDo not give out any information. Hang up immediately.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENotify GTPD by calling 404-894-2500.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EContact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) to report the call. Use their\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/apps.irs.gov\/app\/scripts\/exit.jsp?dest=https:\/\/www.treasury.gov\/tigta\/contact_report_scam.shtml\u0022\u003EIRS Impersonation Scam Reporting\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;web page or call 800-366-4484.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EReport the call to the Federal Trade Commission by visiting\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/apps.irs.gov\/app\/scripts\/exit.jsp?dest=https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/\u0022\u003EFTC.gov\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and clicking on \u201cFile a Consumer Complaint.\u201d Please add \u201cIRS Telephone Scam\u201d in the notes.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EIf you think you might owe taxes, still do not give out any information. Hang up and call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESince tax season, a scam has gone around the country in which callers attempt to persuade students to put money on gift cards and make other forms of payment to meet a previously unknown \u201cfederal student tax.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"GTPD shares FBI warning about IRS spoofing scam targeting college students."}],"uid":"28797","created_gmt":"2016-08-12 14:39:57","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:22:12","author":"Lance Wallace","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-08-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-08-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"126301":{"id":"126301","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech Police Patch","body":null,"created":"1449178604","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:36:44","changed":"1475894749","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:49","alt":"Georgia Tech Police Patch","file":{"fid":"194518","name":"gtpdpatch.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gtpdpatch_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gtpdpatch_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":11699,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gtpdpatch_1.jpg?itok=CYF2NVgc"}}},"media_ids":["126301"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/uac\/newsroom\/irs-warns-of-latest-scam-variation-involving-bogus-federal-student-tax","title":"FBI warning"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4206","name":"fbi"},{"id":"3390","name":"Georgia Tech Police Department"},{"id":"2543","name":"GTPD"},{"id":"110921","name":"IRS"},{"id":"170927","name":"scam"},{"id":"2027","name":"warning"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELance Wallace\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:lance.wallace@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elance.wallace@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["lance.wallace@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}