HCC officials warn students of telephone scam

Sep 14, 2016

There is no such thing as a “federal student tax” but that hasn’t stopped scammers from attempting to defraud susceptible college students at this time of the year, when the fall semester has just started.

In cooperation with a recent announcement made by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Houston Community College is alerting students and their families about a telephone scam involving operatives who claim to be with the IRS and demand payments for a “Federal Student Tax.”

“While we are not aware of any specific instances of HCC students or staff who became victims, we want to make sure that our students are on the lookout for phone calls from IRS impersonators demanding immediate payment,” said Teri Zamora, HCC Sr. Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen added, “Although variations of the IRS impersonation scam continue year-round, they tend to peak when scammers find prime opportunities to strike.”

If anyone receives a phone call of this type, officials at Houston Community College advise students and their families to refuse any request for information hang up and report the scam to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administrator by calling 800-366-4484

According to IRS officials, students must be aware that the IRS never calls to demand immediate payment or threaten to have law enforcement agencies arrest an individual. Additionally, the IRS does not demand that a person wires money or provide the information of their credit or debit card. Generally, the IRS mails a bill to individuals who owe any taxes.

This information was initially issued by the IRS to the Federal Student Aid office of the U.S. Department of Education.