The IRS will NOT contact you via phone if you have defaulted on taxes, the Police Department will NOT call you to let you know you have a warrant, and no legitimate business or government entity will ask for payment via gift card.
Also you will not be asked to pay taxes prior to receiving money left behind in a will of a long lost relative, publishing clearing house, or any sort of prize money. These calls happen all year around, but they pick up this time of year.
We are unable to stop them, trace them, or prevent them from happening. Please do not give out personal information, and also check on your elderly family, friends, and neighbors and remind them as well. There is only so much warning we can provide at the Police Department, and unfortunately it is never enough as we do still get many calls and reports of scams.
Believe it or not we get scam calls at the Police Department as well, while typing this warning in fact Dispatch received one in regards to "our excellent payment history and changes being made to our credit card." Do not fall victim to these scams! - From the Butler Police Department
