The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office warns citizens of recent scam attempts being made on citizens. Sheriff Scott Keeler said a citizen recently reported receiving a telephone call with a recorded message stating they owed money to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The message stated if the citizen did not follow instructions regarding payment, the IRS would confiscate their assets. The sheriff said luckily the citizen did not interact with the call, recognized it as a scam and called the sheriff’s office to report it.

     The sheriff explained another citizen actually talked to an individual claiming to be from the IRS who stated the citizen owed money. The citizen was threatened by the individual saying a warrant will be issued if the debt is not paid.

     “Government agencies like the IRS will not attempt to contact individuals by phone, email or text” said Sheriff Keeler. “The agencies will only mail tax information to individuals. As frustrating as these calls may be, there is no crime committed until money is exchanged.”

     For additional information on protecting against scams please visit the crime tips page on the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office website, www.scsomo.org.