Authorities warn of IRS-threat scam hitting Sonoma County residents

Authorities nationwide are warning about an IRS scam that has targeted numerous people in Sonoma County.

People are being called and told they will be arrested and thrown in jail if they don't pay what they supposedly owe the IRS. Or, they are told they are due a refund and asked to provide personal information so that they can receive the money.

Larry Harris, a registered certified public accountant in Rohnert Park, said he's heard from five people who've been targeted, including one woman he said was so upset she was crying.

Harris said the woman was told the police were going to show up at her home in 20 minutes and 'haul her off to jail' if she didn't pay up.

'It's crazy,' Harris said.

He said none of the people who have contacted him about the scam owe the IRS anything.

Karyn Battenberg of Petaluma said she was reading an online article about the scam Monday when her phone rang. A recorded mail voice stated the call was from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and that Battenberg needed to contact the agency urgently.

Battenberg said she gave the woman she was connected with a strong talking-to. The line disconnected.

'I was so mad,' Battenberg said. 'Who do these people think we are? Idiots?'

Sebastopol police issued an alert Sunday after a business owner in that city reported being contacted by a person demanding that she pay money owed to the IRS.

'People just need to be very suspicious, and know the IRS doesn't call and threaten people that the local police are going to come arrest them if they don't pay a certain amount of money in a certain amount of time, ' Chief Jeff Weaver said.

The IRS issued a similar alert in August following reports about the scam from around the county.

The IRS said agents never demand immediate payment, nor do they contact people about taxes owed without first mailing a bill. The agency also doesn't require a specific payment method, nor ask for credit or debit card information over the phone.

Harris said the scam is the worst he's been privy to in the nearly 40 years he's been a CPA.

He said people have told him the con artists appear to calling from Washington, D.C., based on caller ID.

But Weaver said scammers typically operate outside the United States and use call forwarding to conceal their identities.

Harris advised people to ask for the person's name, IRS badge number and a contact number.

'Then call your CPA, the police and the IRS,' he said.

The IRS recommends reporting incidents to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484 or at www.tigta.gov.

You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @deadlinederek.