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By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune March 13. 2015 12:11PM IRS phone scam hits Medford area hard Benjamin Franklin was close, but there are actually three certainties in life: death, taxes and threatening calls from frauds claiming to be IRS agents. At the height of the 2015 tax season, that third certainty is hitting the Medford area hard. Medford police said they received at least 50 reports — perhaps as many as 75 — from area residents being harassed by scam artists Thursday. The crook, often identifying himself as "Steven Martin," demands payment on taxes and often threatens victims with legal action if they don't cough up the cash. Detective Sgt. Rosh Reimer of Medford police says everyone who has reported locally has seen through the bogus agent's claims. "Nobody has gotten to the point of how to pay," he said. "They're all kind of calling BS and hanging up on him." Some residents are receiving multiple calls. Esther Kennedy of Medford said she thinks she received as many as 15 calls from "Steve Martin" Thursday. "I think they called in 15-minute intervals at least," Kennedy said, adding how the caller left a message with a number for her to call back. "There's something about (how) I must appear before a federal magistrate or judge." "I knew it was a scam," said Kennedy, a former aide to ex-U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon. "There's no doubt about it." The calls are a problem that extends beyond Jackson County and Oregon. The Associated Press reported more than 366,000 people have received similar harassing phone calls nationwide. Since 2013, more than 3,000 people have been duped into paying about $15.5 million to the scammers, the AP story says.  The IRS's website lists several signs of a scammer. The agency says it will never call to demand immediate payment, or call at all unless it has first sent a bill. Agents also will not ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone, ask for specific methods of payment such as a prepaid debit card, or threaten arrest by local police, the site says. Medford police recommend people disregard the calls and hang up the phone. Authorities say they are well aware of the ongoing scam, and that there is no need to report it to them. Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil . http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20150313/NEWS/150319775 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->