Sheriff Wayne Ivey Issues IRS Tax Scam Alert
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard County Sheriff // February 18, 2015
scams increase during tax season
ABOVE VIDEO: The IRS warns taxpayers about an increasing number of tax scams in communities across the country.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – With tax season upon us, our agency is already receiving calls from citizens about telephone and email scams designed to steal our citizen’s identity or hard earned money.
In fact, the latest IRS scam claims to be calling from the IRS but the return telephone number is a spoof number that is actually assigned to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office East Precinct.
While we have to be concerned about fraud and scams all year long we always see an increase around this time each year as our focus turns to tax season.
The simple rule to avoid becoming a victim of this type of scam is to never give personal information over the telephone or through email to anyone who called you.
If a caller leaves a voice mail with a return number, never call that number back but instead research the organization and find the true assigned number.
The IRS offers great information about the “Dirty Dozen” scams that are often used to target citizens during tax season.
Please share this information with your family and friends to help keep them from becoming crime’s next victim.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft.
That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases. Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today.
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.
Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.
Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.
