Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Investigative Operations Bureau
- Economic Crimes Unit

What:
Detectives from the Economic Crimes Unit are warning citizens of an increase in IRS phone scams and a car rental warrant scam occurring in Pinellas County.

When:
Detectives were notified of these phone scams the week of December 17, 2018.    

Where:     
The suspects are calling residents located in Pinellas County.

Why/How:
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office detectives are encouraging the public to be on alert to two recent phone scams occurring in Pinellas County.

Detectives say the scammer will tell the potential victim they owe taxes to the IRS and there is an active warrant for their arrest. The suspects are calling residents in Pinellas County falsely identifying themselves as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees and trying to trick taxpayers into paying non-existent tax bills.

Detectives say, the suspects are also calling residents in Pinellas County falsely identifying themselves as a government agency out of Texas. The suspect tells the victim a car was rented in their name, was used in a crime involving a gun and a warrant was issued for their arrest.

In both scams the scammer instructs the citizen to go to the nearest convenience store to purchase pre-paid debit, credit or gift cards. The suspect then tells the citizen to provide the numbers on the back of the gift card to satisfy payment.  

Detectives have seen an uptick in the number of incidents where Pinellas County citizens have been targeted using these scams.

Detectives want to remind citizens that no government agency will request payment for outstanding debts using gift cards. Detectives also warn citizens not to give personal information or account information over the phone.

If anyone has information on this scam or has become a victim they are asked to call the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office at (727) 582-6200.

The investigation continues.