Scam and Fraud Warning from the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department and NM Courts

The Taxation and Revenue Department reminds the public that if they receive a telephone call or email about a tax or motor vehicle issue where the caller or writer is threatening, demanding payment, or is offering you a service in exchange for money, it is likely a scam.

The public is encouraged to hang up the phone and report the number or send a copy of the letter to the department by going to the department’s website https://www.tax.newmexico.gov/ and selecting “Report Tax Fraud” or “Report Motor Vehicle Fraud” on the contact us page.

If the caller is threatening you, contact local law enforcement.

The Taxation and Revenue Department does not call individuals that have not already reached out to the department for assistance.

If you receive a letter requesting additional information and you are not certain if the letter has come from the department visit our https://tap.state.nm.us/Tap and follow the letter’s instruction on where to input information.

Make sure that the website is the department’s official website by going to https://www.tax.newmexico.gov/ and selecting Online Services and then Taxpayer

Access Point TAP.

All letters from the department have an official letterhead and contain information about what steps the individual takes to receive the letter, if any further action needs to be taken, and if there are any remedies that have to be take.

And the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico has recently been notified of individuals being targeted with a variety of phone, text and email scams.

The targets have been contacted initially by phone or email by an individual claiming to be a member of local law enforcement. Emails often include an attached fraudulent Warrant for Arrest alleging the target failed to appear for either jury duty or as a witness for a grand jury.

Targets may be asked to meet the caller at the “federal bonding building” to pay a fine and post bond, or they may receive a series of text messages or phone calls from various phone numbers with New Mexico area codes, advising that if a fine is paid immediately, the matter will be promptly dismissed.

The name given by the scammer or appearing on the fraudulent warrant may be an actual judge, court employee, or member of the law enforcement/legal community, which helps the scammer legitimize their threats. The request for payment is not always made during the initial contact and payment methods requested include credit card, bitcoin and pre-paid gift card.

Note: The U.S. District Court will never ask for sensitive information in an unsolicited phone call or email and will not assess a fine or penalty for failure to appear in federal court without first having the person appear before a judge.

It is a crime for anyone to falsely represent himself of herself as a federal court official and such an offense is taken very seriously by the federal judiciary. Persons receiving such an email, text or telephone call should not provide any requested information or pay any fines and should contact the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) at 505.889.1300, select option #1 when prompted, to report the incident.

In the District of New Mexico, the individual may also contact the United States District Court at 505.348.2000 to verify that there are no matters pending before the federal court in their name, or visit www.nmd.uscourts.gov/federal-court-related-scams to learn more about court-related scams. Many of these scams intertwine federal and state courts, and individuals may also benefit from contacting their state court to ensure no matters are pending before that court. State court information can be found at nmcourts.gov.

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