Nesquehoning police want to warn residents to be careful because more IRS scam phone calls are currently circulating in the area.

Chief Sean Smith said at approximately 9 a.m. Thursday, a resident reported to officers that she received a phone call from a male with a heavy Indian accent claiming to be from the IRS. The man said the woman owed back taxes and if she did not pay immediately, she would be arrested.The woman reported that this is not the first time she received the call. The person had also called her previously in the early morning hours, as well as in the evening. The phone number on the call the woman received was 415-234-9863, which when searched on the Internet comes back to a phone line originating from the San Francisco area of California and has numerous complaints filed against it about the IRS scam.About the scamThe IRS scam has been circulating around the country in recent months.Typically, a person claiming to be an IRS agent calls and demands immediate payment of money he claims the victim owes. The victim is told to give the caller a credit card number, or to wire the money.In some other cases, the caller may say the victim is owed a large refund, but must first pay a fee. Accomplices call the victim, pretending to represent local police or the Department of Motor Vehicles.IRS phone scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers, and identify themselves using common first and surnames. They may have the last four digits of the victim's Social Security number, and often "spoof" the IRS toll-free number so the call appears on caller ID to be legitimate.The truth is the IRS never calls people out of the blue to demand payment, nor do they ask for credit card information. Agents never insist that people use a specific method to pay taxes. Taxpayers typically receive paperwork by mail if there is a problem.If you receive a phone call from a person you believe to be a scammer, write down as much information as you can on the person calling, as well as the phone number they are calling from; ask them for a phone number to use to call them back; and report it to local police.You can also file a report with the Federal Communications Commission by calling 888-CALL-FCC or filing a complaint at

https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov.