{"id":114,"date":"2017-07-06T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/how-tell-if-irs-debt-collection-contact-legitimate\/"},"modified":"2020-03-16T00:04:42","modified_gmt":"2020-03-16T00:04:42","slug":"how-tell-if-irs-debt-collection-contact-legitimate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/how-tell-if-irs-debt-collection-contact-legitimate\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Tell if Debt Collection by the IRS is Legitimate"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may have heard that the IRS has hired four private debt collection agencies<\/a> to collect unpaid income tax.\u00a0 These agencies are CBE Group, ConServe, Performant and Pioneer Credit Recovery. This means that consumers may begin receiving collection contact from these agencies.\u00a0 To tell the difference between a scam and legitimate collection contact on behalf of the IRS, take note of the following key points:<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll only be contacted if you have unpaid income tax debt<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re contacted out of the blue by someone claiming to be affiliated with the IRS, but know you\u2019ve never been contacted about unpaid taxes before, it\u2019s not legitimate. These firms will be focusing on individuals with unpaid taxes that go back several years. Consumers will have heard from the IRS multiple times already.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll receive a notice in the mail first<\/h2>\n

The firms acting on behalf of the IRS won\u2019t begin with phone contact. You should receive a letter from both the IRS and the debt collection firm prior to being contacted by phone.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll only ask you to send payments directly to the IRS<\/h2>\n

Anyone who asks you to remit payment anywhere other than directly to the IRS is illegitimate. Never provide personal financial information like a credit or debit card number over the phone.<\/p>\n

They still have to follow the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act<\/h2>\n

Working with the IRS does not mean the firms are exempt from complying with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)<\/a>. Among other regulations, debt collectors are not permitted to:<\/p>\n