Don’t Fall for This IRS Phone Scam

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is warning residents across Texas to be cautious of a new phone scam.

The Houston Chronicle reports that automated calls pretending to be from the Inspector General’s Office are trying to gather Social Security information.

Victims of the scam say the recording they get tells them their Social Security number has been flagged as fraudulent and asks for an immediate call back to (512) 937-2871. The area code originates from the Austin area, but authorities don't yet know who is running the scam.

Those who have returned the call receive a message that says... “Google subscriber is not available, please leave a message.”

Inspector General Bruce Toney advises Texans not to provide any personal identifying information to anyone over the phone and encourages everyone who receives one of these calls or a similar phone call to contact the authorities.