BAPD urges tax season awareness
As tax season approaches, The Broken Arrow Police Department (BAPD) would like to raise public awareness to the increase of scams and other schemes related to finances.
This time of year, specifically between Jan. 31-April 15, telephone scams increase. Recently, BAPD took a report from a business who became the victim of a telephone scam. The scammer posed as the business’ corporate headquarters and instructed management to purchase gift cards. After purchasing the cards, the victim representative provided the scammer with the numbers from the pre-paid cards and the business lost money.
Please understand it is not normal for legitimate entities to ask people to make third-party “purchases” to settle debt. If third-party “payment arrangements” must be made to settle debt, the Police Department advises people to proceed in a cautious manner. Furthermore, if a major company or corporation requests payment in the form of pre-paid debit card or gift card, it is more than likely a scam.
BAPD also wants to ensure Broken Arrow citizens know the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does not make outbound phone calls to collect money. If you need assistance, the local phone number for the IRS is 918-622-8482. To schedule an appointment with an IRS representative, please call 1-844-545-5640. The official web address for the IRS is www.irs.gov.
Things to know:
- Do not provide personally sensitive information over the phone or Internet unless you are able to identify the entity.
- Do not let strangers inside your home.
- Do not provide any financial information to unknown sources.
- Conduct penalty-free credit checks as often as allowed.
- Check with employers to see if they will allow W-2 to be picked up instead of being mailed.
