IRS CI Special Agent in Charge Ismael Nevarez on Preventing Identity Theft, Tax Fraud

By Editor May 20, 2016 17:29

By: Cindy G. Castillo

The relationship that a person has with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can make or break anyone’s financial well-being.

That’s why it is important to be informed of the necessary precautions we can take to protect ourselves from committing any faults in front of the IRS.

Ismael Nevarez works as Special Agent in Charge (SAC) for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation (CI) Phoenix Field Office, and proudly stands behind more than 20 years of experience. It’s also important to note he is the first Latino to hold said position.

SAC Nevarez earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a Master’s in Management from the Catholic University of America. But after learning about the duties of the IRS Criminal Investigation Field Office, he was drawn into that career path.

Now, he is responsible for all of CI’s investigative and operational activity in Arizona and New Mexico.

“One of my responsibilities as the head of office is to make sure that we are communicating with the community,” he explains, “a big component [of my job] is ensuring that the community understands their responsibility to file and pay their taxes, and we’re here to help them in the process.”

Nevarez is also in charge of authorizing initiation of criminal investigations and approves referrals for prosecution to the Department of Justice. As he calls it, the “law enforcement division of the IRS.” Among other things, they handle cases regarding tax evasion, money laundering and any kind of financial fraud.

Among other things, Nevarez says the fact that he’s fluent in Spanish comes as a benefit in helping and reaching out to the Latino community in particular. “[I think it also] reflects IRS’ efforts to ensure that we are communicating across the community both in English and in Spanish,” he says, “and there’s a big effort to do that across the country, specially in offices where there’s a big Latino community.”

But perhaps one of the most important duties that Nevarez holds is that one of ensuring that people stay informed of tax scams that are happening and what they can do to protect themselves.

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He says some of the main things to remember when it comes to the IRS is that the federal agency will NEVER:

Call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
The IRS will not initiate contact with taxpayers through email, text messages or ANY social media channels.

If you or someone you know receives a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asks for money and you don’t owe taxes, here’s what you should do:

Don’t 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 at FTC.gov. Use the link “FTC Complaint Assistant” and add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.
If you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040.

Nevarez also points out of the risks about identity theft, and provided some useful tips to prevent this from happening to you or anyone you know:

Don’t routinely carry your Social Security card or any document with your Social Security Number on it
Don’t give a business your SSN just because they ask — only when absolutely necessary
Protect your personal financial information at home and on your computer
Check your credit report annually
Check your Social Security Administration earnings statement annually
Don’t give out personal information over the phone, through the mail or the Internet unless you have either initiated the contact or are sure you know who is asking