Two weeks ago, Josephine Shoemaker received a call from someone claiming to represent the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

                The voicemail claimed the 84-year-old East Greenville resident owed back taxes and was facing a lawsuit.

                "That really shook me up," she said. "So I called the number on the message back."

                Initially, Shoemaker had a 15 minute conversation with a man speaking broken English with a Spanish accent, who she could barely understand.

                Shoemaker said another person got on the line and told her there was a discrepancy in her taxes "from '72 to '75." At that point, the woman knew she was the target of an attempted scam. She hung up the phone and eventually called the Upper Perk Police District.

                On Aug. 26, a Red Hill resident told Upper Perk Police that someone pretending to be a member of the same department threatened to arrest the resident for not paying their taxes the last eight years, according to Jamie Lavin, a corporal with the department.

                Lavin said the caller, who spoofed the department's phone number on the resident's caller ID, identified himself as Officer Mark Stark.

                A Main Street resident in the same borough received a similar phone call. On Aug. 22, a 40-year-old woman took a call from someone impersonating an IRS agent, according to the state police.

                The caller requested that she deliver $1,650 worth of iTunes gift cards to a specific location.

                Lavin described this IRS scam as legitimate. He said it happens more often than residents realize.

                "This seems to be active in the area," Lavin said. "We've had a handful of people complaining about it."

                According to the corporal, the federal agency only contacts residents through the mail, never on the telephone.

                Lavin suggested that anyone who receives a call like this should go to the police department or call law enforcement officials. He said financial crimes usually target the elderly.

                Shoemaker received two additional phone calls accusing her of being delinquent on her taxes by the end of the following week. She said all three calls had different area codes.

                According to the IRS website, the IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration continue to hear from taxpayers who have received unsolicited calls from individuals demanding payment while fraudulently claiming to be from the IRS.

                Based on the 90,000 complaints that TIGTA has received through its telephone hotline, to date, TIGTA has identified approximately 1,100 victims who have lost an estimated $5 million from these scams.  

                "There are clear warning signs about these scams, which continue at high levels throughout the nation," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "Taxpayers should remember their first contact with the IRS will not be a call from out of the blue, but through official correspondence sent through the mail. A big red flag for these scams are angry, threatening calls from people who say they are from the IRS and urging immediate payment. This is not how we operate. People should hang up immediately and contact TIGTA or the IRS."

                In addition, it is important for taxpayers to know that the IRS: Never asks for credit card, debit card or prepaid card information over the telephone; never insists that taxpayers use a specific payment method to pay tax obligations; never requests immediate payment over the telephone; and will not take enforcement action immediately following a phone conversation. Taxpayers usually receive prior notification of IRS enforcement action involving IRS tax liens or levies.