Con artists posing as Internal Revenue Service agents are calling people up and demanding immediate payment of supposed back taxes, according to Dick Blust of the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Department

While the most recent calls have been reported in Sweetwater County, the same scam has been reported across the state in recent months, including in Laramie and Natrona Counties.

The calls typically feature phony IRS agents aggressively demanding immediate payment using a debit or credit card or wire transfer.

If the intended victim refuses or starts asking questions, the caller warns they will immediately be arrested unless they pay the supposed back taxes. In some cases, they also threaten to have a spouse arrested or to revoke the person's driver's license.

Blust says the callers use fake names and a bogus IRS badge numbers, and may also use the last four digits of the victim's Social Security number or sometimes even the entire number.

Many of the callers are unusually rude, and sometimes the victim will receive a followup call from another supposed agent. The IRS always contacts taxpayers with a letter rather than a phone call.

Taxpayers can find out whether they really owe back taxes by calling 1-800-829-1040.

Blust says people who get the calls from phony IRS agents can report them to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484.

More From Y95 Country