IRS on the Line Looking for Money? More Likely a Scammer

In this April 13, 2014 file photo, the Internal Revenue Service Headquarters (IRS) building is seen in Washington. AP Photo/J. David Ake, File

WASHINGTON—The Treasury Department has a message for taxpayers getting calls from the IRS demanding immediate payment: Hang up.

Those aggressive, threatening calls are coming from phone scammers. And they are successful, too, costing more than 5,000 victims more than $26.5 million since October 2013. About 900,000 scammer contacts were reported during that period.