IRS Warns Against Fake Debt Collectors

by Mike Bevel, CollectionIndustry.com

As shady sidewalk vendors are to Kate Spade bags, so, it seems, are unauthorized debt collectors to the new IRS plan of using private debt collectors in recouping unpaid taxes. ?Course, the stakes aren?t as high on the fake Pradas. A bag?s a bag?s a bag, right?

The IRS issued a warning to taxpayers Wednesday to be careful not to be duped by unscrupulous scammers posing as one of the debt collection agencies engaged by the government.

It?s difficult to know if the nefarious threat of the fake bill collectors is a legitimate concern, or if it?s just another in a deep bag of tricks opponents to the plan are pulling out in an attempt to quell the program before it can really start. The plan is not winning any fans; everyone from the National Treasury Employees Union to consumer advocates has expressed a deep-seated loathing of the plan. They claim that it is a violation of trust on the part of the IRS, and nothing more than a scam waiting to happen.

Brady Bennett, IRS director of collection, has tried to soothe some fears ? but it?s a hard row to hoe: “The purpose of this program is to provide value to the American taxpayer. Those who don’t pay have an impact on everybody else who does,” he said. “We want this program to work, and we think we’ve designed the necessary security, privacy protections.”

That hasn?t stopped the National Treasury Employees Union from stepping up and speaking out against the program. The union sees it as a threat to federal workers, and has even drafted a sample letter that taxpayers can send to opt out of the private collection program and demand that the IRS handle their case.