State police at Frackville have issued a warning to Schuylkill County residents about a phone scam.

Troopers said phone calls are being made to residents which the caller tells the person they owe back taxes and need to pay immediately or face arrest by police or other agencies.The callers often refer to bogus case numbers in an attempt to make their scam sound more legitimate. Troopers said this is not how the Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Treasury works.The U.S. government, nor any of its employees will ask over-the-phone, Internet, or social media sites for any personal information or passwords to bank accounts or credit card accounts. Anyone requesting this information is intending on stealing money.The majority of these scams originate from outside the borders of the country, therfore law enforcement may not be able to recover the lost money or prosecute the perpetrators.Troopers advised residents:If you owe, or think you owe taxes, hang up and call the IRS at 800-829-1040 and IRS workers will discus your individual circumstances with you.If you know you don't owe taxes, fill out the IRS Impersonation Scam form on the TIGTA (Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration) website at

www.treasury.gov/tigta. or call TIGTA at 800-366-4484.You can also file a complaint at

www.FTC.gov and note IRS Phone Scam, in the comments.Any bogus email solicitations purportedly from the IRS should be forwarded to

phishing@irs.gov.