The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance is alerting taxpayers to the latest tactics being used by con artists. Scammers are cloning the Tax Department’s fraud hotline phone numbers so they appear on a taxpayer’s caller ID, giving the impression that these bogus calls are legitimate calls from the agency.
The numbers being used by scam artists are 518-457-5181 and 518-457-0578. These phone numbers are for taxpayers making incoming calls to the Tax Department. The Tax Department doesn’t use these numbers for outgoing calls.
Taxpayers can also protect themselves from con artists by creating an Online Services account directly with the Tax Department at www.tax.ny.gov. This account allows taxpayers to confirm any outstanding tax liabilities and manage their tax matters securely online. If a caller is telling you something that doesn’t match up with your OLS account, it could be a warning sign.
If you believe that you’ve been contacted by someone attempting a scam, or you or a client have been the victim of fraud or identity theft, visit https://tax.ny.gov/help/contact/fraud-scams-idtheft.htm to learn how to report it.
