By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Local law enforcement is cautioning members of the public not to provide their credit card information to phone callers in light of a large number of reports about scammers.
So many reports came during the month of June to the Centralia Police Department, the Chehalis Police Department and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office that they jointly issued an advisory.
“The callers are identifying themselves as the IRS or warrant service companies,” Centralia police detective Patty Finch stated. “In most reports, the callers are telling the victims that a warrant has been issued for their arrest or they are being sued.”
They are coming from various long distance numbers and some have asked for credit card information, according to Finch.
The detective shared a statement from the Internal Revenue Service that notes the federal agency “does not threaten taxpayers with lawsuits, imprisonment or other enforcement action” and “will never ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.”
Finch advises people to never provide account information over the phone until after independently confirming it’s a legitimate reason.