From the Desk of

Sergeant Christopher Copeland

DECATUR POLICE DEPARTMENT
333 S. Franklin Street
Decatur, IL. 62523
(217) 424-2736

PRESS RELEASE

The Decatur Police Department has received several inquiries regarding a telephone scam in-
volving persons representing themselves to be employees, agents or officers of the Internal Rev-
enue Service. The call is often a recording indicating that the IRS is actively monitoring the
called persons activities due to pending criminal charges. There are other variations in which
the caller may be a live person demanding payment for alleged back taxes, etc. These callers are
very often non-native English speakers. The numbers can be from anywhere in the United
States. Additionally, scammers may contact persons via email or conventional mail claiming to
be from the IRS

The Decatur Police Department strongly advises citizens not to answer calls from unfamiliar
numbers. If you do happen to answer one of these calls, hang up. The Internal Revenue Service
has a helpful webpage, located at https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/how-to-know-it-s-really-
the-irs-calling-or-knocking-on-your-door with information about how to tell if youre really deal-
ing with the IRS. For example:

Note the IRS does not:

Call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid
debit card, gift card or wire transfer. Generally, the IRS will first mail a bill to any tax-
payer who owes taxes.
Demand that you pay taxes without the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they
say you owe. You should also be advised of your rights as a taxpayer.
Threaten to bring in local police, immigration officers or other law-enforcement to have
you arrested for not paying. The IRS also cannot revoke your drivers license, business
licenses, or immigration status. Threats like these are common tactics scam artists use to
trick victims into buying into their schemes.

At the bottom of the web page are links and phone numbers citizens can utilize to report these
calls, as well as email scams involving the IRS. The Decatur Police Department does not inves-
tigate these types of cases.

Sgt. Christopher S. Copeland

Criminal Investigations Division
424-2736
CCopeland@decaturil.gov