Skip to content
Main Menu
Utah Attorney General
Search
Attorney General
Sean D. Reyes
Utah Office of the Attorney General
Secondary Navigation
Utah Attorney General's Office

Attorney General Warns Utahns of Telephone Scam Spoofing Utah State Treasurer’s Office Phone Number

Fraudulent Callers Claim to be IRS Agents Collecting Back Taxes

SALT LAKE CITY October 17, 2016 – Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes announced today that the Office of the Attorney General has received reports of Utahns receiving fraudulent, unsolicited phone calls from aggressive individuals claiming to be IRS officials collecting back taxes. The fraudulent callers are spoofing the Utah Office of the Treasurer’s phone number (801-538-1042) to gain credibility. The Office of Utah State Treasurer does not collect taxes (federal, state or otherwise).

The fraudulent callers demand the victim immediately pay a bogus tax bill via credit card, pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim does not cooperate, they are intimidated with threats of arrest, deportation or other harmful measures.

The IRS website advises if you receive a call and do not suspect you owe federal income tax:  

  • Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.
  • Contact TIGTA to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page or call 800-366-4484.
  • Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.

If you receive a call and know you owe federal income tax or think you may owe federal income tax:

  • Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.
  • Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you.  
  • Stay alert to scams using the IRS as a lure. Tax scams can happen any time of year, not only at tax time. For more information visit “Tax Scams and Consumer Alerts” on IRS.gov.

Please also feel free to contact the Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-244-4636 or at https://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/contact-us.

 

# # #

Utah Attorney General's Office

Dwight Shane Baldwin Sentenced to Between Four and 30 Years

SALT LAKE CITY May 27, 2016 –The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) announced today that Dwight Shane Baldwin, more commonly known as Shane Baldwin, was sentenced to between four and 30 years for four counts of Securities Fraud and three counts of Communications Fraud, all 2nd Degree Felonies. Baldwin was prosecuted by the Mortgage and Financial Fraud Unit of the OAG after an investigation by the Utah Division of Securities and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes released the following statement in relation to the sentencing:

“It continues to be important that people verify the legitimacy of any deal or offering before ever trusting anyone, even close friends and family, with money to invest. This case is an excellent example of the damage that can be wrought upon innocent victims when trust is violated. We hope citizens will take great precautions, including checking the White Collar Fraud Offender Registry, when making investments of any sort. I cannot emphasize this enough. Fraud destroys lives. Fraud decimates families and businesses. Utahans must do everything in their power to protect themselves while we continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute fraudsters.

“We appreciate the fine work and cooperation of our partners, the Utah Division of Securities and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We also thank the United States Attorney’s Office for inviting us to lead the prosecution of this case.”

# # #