Aug 14, 2013
The IRS doesn't have any resources to shut down all those boiler room operations from overseas, or even the scammers here in the US. And of course the caller sounds confident - he's a scammer and people fall for this scam all the time!
All you need to know is that the IRS does NOT call you out of the blue saying you owe taxes and you must pay them now or else you'll be arrested! Doesn't work that way! You're NOT going to be arrested if you owe taxes and haven't paid them. Nor does the IRS call you and ask for payment at that moment, over the phone.
If you DO owe taxes, whether you just never paid them or made a mistake in your calculations, the IRS MAILS you a letter asking you to pay. If by some chance, you didn't pay after receiving such notification, they would simply tack on late penalties and would take what you owe out of your next refund. But please, don't take my word for it - go to http://www.irs.gov/uac/Contact-Your-Local-IRS-Office-1 and find the nearest office to call - they will confirm they don't call people like this.