The IRS has received more than 90,000 complaints about these scams with approximately 1,100 individuals suffering at least $5 million total in losses.

Scammers may even use threats of jail time and driver's license revocation to try and frighten consumers into payment by prepaid debit card. The IRS warns consumers not to fall for government employee imposters seeking collection of phony taxes due. Scammers may even go so far as to simulate IRS phone numbers and email addresses to evade caller ID and your email spam folder.

In fact, the IRS does not ask for debit/credit card information over the phone, nor do they force consumers to pay monies owed by a specific payment type. If you owe taxes, the IRS will mail you a notice directly. Should you wonder if you do owe taxes, call the IRS toll-free directly at 1-800-829-1040 for inquiries and customer assistance. Of course, AGH clients may contact their AGH tax professional directly.

Refuse to be victimized by criminals trying to steal your money and your identity, and remember that the IRS rarely calls taxpayers about audits as a method for initial contact - they mail official correspondence first. If you are contacted by a potential IRS agent, request the caller to send written correspondence to you first. For more information, contact your AGH professional or AGH senior vice president Shawn Sullivan at (316)-291-4110 or email him at shawn.sullivan@aghlc.com.

Any discussion of tax matters contained herein is not intended or written to be tax advice, and cannot be relied upon as such, nor can it be used for the purpose of: (I) avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed by the IRS or states, or (II) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein. If you seek definitive tax advice on a matter, please request a written tax memorandum from your AGH tax advisor.