AUGUSTA —If someone calls and says they’re a company collecting s debt you owe to  the Internal Revenue Agency and you need to pay up right now — watch out. You could well be in the sights of a scammer.

While the Internal Revenue Agency has indeed begun using private debt collectors,  the companies don’t call without writing first, and they don’t ask for immediate payment by gift cards and the like. 

The IRS received Congressional approval to use debt collection services in 2015 and began this year. The four companies hired are CBE Group, of Cedar Falls, Iowa; Conserve, of Fairpoint, New York; Performant, of Livermore, California; and Pioneer, of Horseheads, New York.

The IRS always contacts folks first before the legitimate debt collector does  — and both entities contact the consumer by mail.

And they don’t ask for immediate payment by Green Dot or gift cards, said David Leach of the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, as the scam callers do.

The bureau put out the word about scammers last week, after their agency and the Office of the Maine Attorney General both received calls from hundreds of Maine residents about scam callers.

Leach, in a telephone interview Wednesday, said some folks have been taken in by the scam, “and run down to a (store) to get a Green Dot card.”

“I tip my cap to IRS – they put out a hotline for consumers, “ said Leach. “Our  concern now is that scammers work 18-20 hours a day. They’re  knowledgable and can say ‘you need to send money today.’  The schtick  hasn’t changed.”

Leach said the legitimate debt collectors are going after long time tax debtors who have had a great deal of prior correspondence with the IRS.

Maine’s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, which licenses debt collectors, is encouraging consumers to educate themselves in order to avoid falling victim to the scam.

The bureau publishes free consumer guides — including a Downeaster Debt Collection guide with a new section containing information about the IRS debt collection scam. They’ll mail it to consumers free — folks just need to call 1-800-332-8529 and ask, or they can view it  at: www.credit.maine.gov by clicking on consumer guides under consumer tools on the right-hand side of the web page.

Bureau director Will Lund put it this way:

“If a company contacts a taxpayer by phone without prior written notice from the IRS and from the collection agency, or if the caller demands immediate payment by phone, or by prepaid debit card, iTune or gift card, then it’s a scam,” Lund said.

He and Leach reminded Maine residents that checks and money orders destined for the IRS are made out to  the U.S. Treasury, not to a collection agency or some other entity.

And Leach advised, when in doubt, hang up.

The IRS  hotline, at the office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration enables consumers to file complaints about a private collection agency or to report misconduct by an employee. The TIGTA hotline number is 800-366-4484, or consumers can visit www.tigta.gov or write to: Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration Hotline,  Post Office Box 589 Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044-0589.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.