Pulaski police warn residents of IRS, Publisher's Clearing House telephone scams

PULASKI (WSLS 10) - The Pulaski Police Department would like to warn the public of two recent telephone scams in the area.

The first telephone scam claims to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

According to complaints, the caller will tell the victim they owe taxes, and to avoid loss of home, drivers and business licenses, having their bank accounts frozen, and even deportation, they can pay them via pre-paid debit/credit cards or wire money transfers.

The scammers are convincing in that they already have a large amount of the intended victim's information such as their names, addresses, and phone numbers.  The scammers may also have partial social security numbers. The scammers have also threatened victims with criminal charges and jail time.

According to the IRS, their protocol is to first contact people regarding unpaid taxes by mail, and will not ask for payment by prepaid card or wire transfers. For more information regarding IRS tax scams and what to do if you been contacted by a scammer, click here. 

The second telephone scam claims to be from the Publisher's Clearing House.

According to complaints, the caller will tell the victim they have won the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes, but must first pay the state taxes on their winnings. The caller will then tell the victim they must pay via pre-paid debit/credit cards or wire money transfers.

The caller with later receive another call requesting additional money for federal taxes. According to the Publisher's Clearing House blog, "the winning is always free and you NEVER have to pay to claim a prize award."

For more information regarding Publisher's Clearing House scams and what to do if you feel you have been a victim of a scam, click here.