Crime & Safety

Police Warn Against 'Tax Man' Scammers, Other Phone Fraudsters

If a strange caller wants you to immediately wire money, it may well be a scam. Confirm what's going on before you send your money.

New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski is warning New Canaan residents not to fall for the Tax Man scam and similar scams where phone callers demand that money be wired to them.

In Darien, police have reported two recent incidents in which money was demanded by someone claiming to be from the IRS. In one case, a victim lost $2,800. In another, a man seems to have come close to losing $4,000. The IRS has warned the pubic not to fall for the scam.

Here's the warning issued Thursday by Police Chief Leon Krolikowski:

A New Canaan resident reports receiving an unsolicited telephone call in which the caller claims to be an “officer” with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The caller states that there is an arrest warrant for the resident. These calls are false and are a scheme to extort money.

The telephone number of the fraudulent caller is 202-241-0697, which has been reported as being used in scams across the country.

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A caller that claims to be with the IRS but threatens police arrest, deportation or license revocation if you don’t pay immediately, is a sign that it really is not the IRS calling.

Generally, IRS contact with taxpayers on a federal tax issue is likely to occur via mail.

Find out what's happening in New Canaanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Residents should:

  1. Never give personal information(dates of birth, social security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, computer passwords, etc.) to unknown persons over the telephone or electronically.
  2. Be suspicious of unsolicited telephone calls and/or e-mails.
  3. Always check information that is provided by the caller to ensure it is accurate and legitimate.
  4. Avoid conversations with unknown callers.
  5. Never wire or send money in response to an unknown caller who makes an unexpected demand.
  6. Contact the police department at 203-594-3500 for assistance.





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