A couple of days ago we were called by a client who received a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS. They asked for her attorney's name and number. The call came from 415-484-2132 which is a California area code. The person had a thick accent and a bad phone connection.

Our client asked, "How would she know they were truly IRS?" and did not get a satisfactory response.
She forgot to get a name, but called the number back and there was no answer

Then, yesterday we received a call from a gentleman saying he may need our help...someone from the IRS called saying there was a criminal investigation of his wife for the last 10 years, and she owed $8,798.00 which needed to be paid immediately or they would summons and arrest her tomorrow.

He explained to us that they have always filed jointly, and have no tax problems. They received no letters or phone calls prior to this one.

He described a thick accent and also got a couple numbers, 415-496-9573 and 415-413-3834, both having the same California area code. He suspected it was a scam but wanted to verify. We told him the IRS is currently shut down with the rest of the U.S. Government. We also told him that IRS criminal investigators do NOT collect money and they do NOT call before they arrest someone!

He called one of the California numbers back asking for more specifics of where to pay, and asked for a supervisor but was told there was none available.

Short story is that the IRS is shut down and most likely won't be contacting you until the government re-opens. Follow your instincts! Don't give out any information if you are suspicious.