Last Updated on May 26, 2016 10:58 am
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper is warning about phony tax collector scam with a new twist: targeting college students.
North Carolina college students are reporting calls from imposters posing as IRS agents. They’re demanding that students pay a federal student tax immediately, a tax that doesn’t really exist. They may claim the tax is connected to student loans and threaten you with arrest or loss of your degree if you don’t pay right away.
Several North Carolina students have reported fraudulent tax collector calls to our Consumer Protection Division, and some have been tricked into paying money. One student recently sent in $500 to the scammers via iTunes gift cards, and others have paid as much as $4,000 through MoneyGram.
Remember: There is no federal student tax, and the real IRS will not demand that you pay taxes using gift cards, deposits to strangers’ bank accounts, or wire transfers.
If you get one of these IRS scam calls, let the Attorney General's office know by calling 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or by filing a complaint online at ncdoj.gov. Please report:
- The number the call appears to come from (the number that appears on your phone or Caller ID).
- The number you’re told to call to pay taxes or fines.
Our office is working with the IRS and telephone companies to try to identify the source of the calls and stop them, and your complaints can help.
