Rochester Police are advising residents of a phone scam after several people have been contacted by someone claiming to be from the IRS and stating that they owe money and must pay now. A statement from the IRS states that notifications of taxes due are sent via written notification in the U.S. mail.

Additionally, the IRS never asks for credit card, debit card or prepaid card information over the telephone. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels. The IRS also does not ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts. Recipients should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, forward the e-mail to phishing@irs.gov.

For more information or to report a scam, go to www.irs.gov and type "scam" in the search box.

People have reported a particularly aggressive phone scam in the last several months. Immigrants are frequently targeted. Potential victims are threatened with deportation, arrest, having their utilities shut off or having their driver's licenses revoked. Callers are frequently insulting or hostile ­– apparently to scare their potential victims.

Potential victims may be told they are entitled to big refunds, or that they owe money that must be paid immediately to the IRS. When unsuccessful the first time, sometimes phone scammers call back trying a new strategy.

Other characteristics of this scam include:

-        Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.

-        Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim's Social Security number.

-        Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it's the IRS calling.

-        Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls.

-        Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.

After threatening victims with jail time or driver's license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim.

If someone who owes or thinks they own taxes to the IRS gets a phone call, they should contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. For those who have no reason to think they owe any taxes, call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484.