The Internal Revenue Service warned East Tennesseans that scammers could be pretending to be IRS employees conducting telephone surveys.
According to the IRS, there have been reports in this area of these types of questionable telephone calls.
IRS spokesman Dan Boone said scammers are using this approach to con people into providing private information or sending money. Boone also warned that scammers could be pretending to be the IRS or tax experts.
"Crooks may use a flyer or phone call, an e-mail, text message or even a tweet to make contact," Boone said. "They may try to gain your trust by already knowing something about you."
According to Boone, the IRS typically does not conduct direct telephone surveys . He said generally the agency contacts taxpayers through mail. Furthermore, the IRS does not use e-mail, text messages or social media to ask for personal or financial information.
If you are suspicious about any survey or contact made by someone claiming to be the IRS, you can call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to find out if the agency is trying to contact you.
Also people can forward questionable e-mails of this nature to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.
If you believe your personal information has been stolen, immediately call the Identity Protection Specialize Unit at 1-800-908-4490.