The attorney general’s duties protecting and serving the people of Michigan do not include collecting or facilitating the collection of federal tax debt, so her name would never be attached to a debt collection email. Nessel has re-issued her IRS Phone and Email Tax Scams alert to remind consumers of how these scams look and sound.
“Each year at tax time, bad actors appear out of the woodwork to scam hard-working consumers out of their tax refund,” Nessel said. “Remember, government agencies rarely ask for personal information by phone or email. These calls and emails should be reported immediately. My Consumer Protection Team stands ready to offer resources and advice when needed.”
In the scam email, the person writing from a fake “Attorney Dana Nessel” email address claims to have received information that the recipient had complained about their tax refund. The fake attorney general goes on to ask the taxpayer, “Are you dealing with scammers? If so, kindly get back to me with the letter whereas, scammers are going to cost a huge amount of debt that you can’t even complete it through your entire living…”
Readers will notice the broken English and incorrect tenses, which are important clues to the email’s lack of authenticity. Additionally, the emails are purportedly being sent from a gmail account, not an official state or federal email address.
Nessel also wants to inform the public about what the IRS will never do. As the alert points out, the IRS will never:
• Demand immediate payment.
To file a complaint with the Department of Attorney General, residents are encouraged to contact:
Consumer Protection Team?
Online complaint form at https://secure.ag.state.mi.us/complaints/consumer.aspx
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