Is a Florida Department of Revenue Phone Call a Scam?

How to Tell a Legitimate Audit, Collections, or Criminal Investigation Call from a Scammer Impersonating the Department of Revenue

Law Offices of Moffa, Sutton & Donnini, P.A.

813-775-2131 | JamesSutton@FloridaSalesTax.com | www.FloridaSalesTax.com

I should know because our office fields calls like this almost every week from business owners trying to decide, in real time, whether the person on the other end of the line actually works for the Department of Revenue. Florida's Department of Revenue routinely uses the phone — to open a sales tax or reemployment tax audit, to chase down a business that is behind on filing or paying, and in more serious cases, to conduct a criminal investigation — all long before any written notice ever reaches the mailbox. But criminals also impersonate the Department, using fake refund text messages, spoofed caller ID, and threats of arrest to steal banking information from people who assume any call claiming to be “the government” must be real. Treat every call as legitimate and you risk handing a stranger your routing number. Treat every call as fake and you risk losing the head start that comes with knowing the Department is already looking at your business. This article walks through how to tell the two apart.

I. Two Very Different Reasons Your Phone Might Ring

A legitimate call almost always precedes a written notice. The Department of Revenue uses the phone for several different purposes, and none of them are exclusive to sales tax audits. An auditor may call to open a sales and use tax or reemployment tax audit. A collections representative may call because a business has fallen behind on filing returns or remitting the tax it collected. In the most serious cases, a criminal investigator may call as part of an active criminal investigation into unremitted sales tax. In every one of these situations, the call is followed by something in writing — an audit notice, a delinquency notice, a warrant, or a subpoena — and the Department is confirming information, not trying to extract a payment on the spot. The one exception here are criminal investigations, which do not always do things in written. Instead, they often show up in person at your home or business.

A scam call is designed to end the conversation, not start a process. Criminals impersonating the Department of Revenue are not opening an audit, working a collections case, or building an investigation. They are trying to close a transaction — get a payment, a click, or a set of account numbers before the person on the other end has time to think. Everything about a scam call is built around urgency: an alleged refund that will be lost by tomorrow, an alleged warrant that will be executed within the hour, an alleged debt that will double if the taxpayer hangs up to call back.

Both kinds of calls invoke the same name — the Florida Department of Revenue — which is exactly why the Department has become a favorite costume for scammers. The Department has issued repeated public warnings about impersonation campaigns using its name to solicit banking information from Florida taxpayers. That being said – a Department of Revenue collector can be very pushy about getting a payment asap, but the payment is to be made on Florida’s revenue portal – not by bringing a check immediately to someone who happens to be at the local library today. Use common sense.

II. What a Legitimate Department of Revenue Call Looks Like

The caller identifies themselves and their title. Florida's broad public records law generally requires state employees to give their name. A legitimate Department of Revenue employee should have no trouble telling you their first and last name and their job title, including whether they are a field auditor, a collections representative, or a criminal investigator. You can use sites like www.411.myflorida.gov to look up individual’s names that work for the state.

The purpose of the call stays within the Department's lane, and that lane varies by call type. An audit-related call is generally limited to confirming that the business is open, identifying the industry, and verifying contact information. A collections call about delinquent filings or unremitted tax is more direct about the balance owed and the deadline to resolve it, but it still points the taxpayer toward the Department's own payment channels and written notices — it does not demand a wire transfer or gift card on the spot. A call from a criminal investigator will identify itself as such and is typically followed by a subpoena, a search warrant, or a referral to the State Attorney's Office, not an on-the-spot settlement offer. If fact, investigators are not supposed to ask for money at all as collections is not their job. Requests for a Social Security number, an online banking password, or immediate payment by unconventional means fall outside all three of these lanes and are a red flag regardless of who claims to be calling.

The call is always followed up in writing. An audit does not begin and end on the phone. A real Notice of Intent to Audit Books and Records, a real assessment, and a real collection action are always documented and mailed. If a caller insists that something must be resolved during that phone call — with no notice to follow — that is inconsistent with how the Department actually operates.

Nothing has to happen before you hang up. No legitimate Department of Revenue employee needs a gift card number, a cryptocurrency transfer, or a wire transfer completed while you are still on the phone. Legitimate tax debts are paid through the Department's own payment channels, not through instructions given verbally by a stranger who called you.

III. The Scam Playbook: What Criminals Impersonating the Department Actually Do

Fake refund texts and emails. The most common current scheme sends a text message or email claiming a tax refund has been approved and needs “final confirmation” before it expires. The Department has stated publicly, more than once, that it does not send text messages soliciting payment or banking information, and any message asking a taxpayer to click a link to “confirm” a refund is not from the Department.

Threats of immediate arrest. Some callers claim a citation, a back-tax balance, or a missed filing will result in arrest within the hour unless the taxpayer pays immediately, often by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency. A civil tax matter does not escalate to an arrest threat over the phone, and no legitimate government office collects a debt through a cryptocurrency ATM. That being said, I have know a FL DOR collector or two to cross the line by threatening to send a sheriff out to arrest a business owner, which they have zero authority to do.

Spoofed caller ID. Caller ID technology can be manipulated to display a Tallahassee area code or a name that looks official, even when the call originates from outside Florida or outside the country entirely. A familiar-looking number on the screen is not, by itself, proof of who is actually calling.

Manufactured urgency and isolation. Scammers keep taxpayers on the phone, discourage them from hanging up to verify anything independently, and pressure them not to tell a spouse, an accountant, or an attorney what is happening. A legitimate Department of Revenue employee has no reason to object to a taxpayer taking time to confirm the call before responding.

IV. Four Ways to Verify Who Is Really on the Line

1. Get the caller's full name and search the state employee directory. Ask for the caller's first and last name and job title, then search that name under “By Employee” at myflorida.com/411. If the name does not return a Department of Revenue employee, treat the call with heightened suspicion — though keep in mind the search only works with an exact name match.

2. Call Taxpayer Services directly. Hang up and call the Department's Taxpayer Services line at 850-488-6800 using a number you look up independently, not one the caller provided. Ask them to confirm whether the call you received is legitimate.

3. Ask for it in writing. A legitimate employee will not object to following up by mail or secure email instead of resolving something verbally. If a caller refuses to send anything in writing and insists on an answer in that moment, that refusal is itself informative.

4. Report a suspected scam to the Department's Inspector General. If you cannot confirm the caller's identity and suspect a scam, report it to the Department of Revenue's Office of Inspector General at 850-617-8152.

V. What the Department of Revenue Will Never Do

The Department of Revenue will never:

Demand payment in gift cards, cryptocurrency, or a wire transfer completed while you are still on the phone;

Send a text message asking you to click a link to confirm a refund;

Threaten immediate arrest over the phone for a civil sales tax or reemployment tax matter;

Ask for your full Social Security number or your online banking password verbally; or

Require anything to be resolved in a single phone call, with nothing to follow in writing.

VI. If You Already Provided Information

If you gave out banking information, a Social Security number, or made a payment to someone you now believe was impersonating the Department of Revenue, contact your bank or card issuer immediately to freeze the account or reverse the charge, then report the incident to the Department's Office of Inspector General at 850-617-8152, the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and the Florida Attorney General's Office. The sooner these reports are made, the better the odds of limiting the damage.

VII. Don't Let Scam-Awareness Cause You to Miss a Real Audit

The flip side of this problem is just as costly. Many taxpayers, having heard enough about scams, now presume every call from the Department of Revenue is fake and simply hang up — giving up valuable time to prepare before the formal audit notice, delinquency notice, or subpoena arrives. This is especially risky with a collections or criminal investigation call, where the taxpayer's window to get ahead of the issue — for example, by exploring the Department's Voluntary Disclosure Program before a criminal referral is made — can close quickly. Once you have confirmed a caller is a genuine Department of Revenue employee, the call still deserves caution: anything you say may be documented on the Department's end, and the Department is not bound by anything an employee tells you informally over the phone. Whether the subject is an audit, a collections balance, or a criminal investigation, it is worth consulting an attorney before saying more, and requesting written communication going forward.

VIII. Conclusion

A call claiming to be from the Florida Department of Revenue is not automatically a scam — and it is not automatically legitimate either. Confirm the caller's identity before you provide any information, insist on written follow-up for anything substantive, and never let urgency on the phone push you into a decision you have not had time to think through. If the call turns out to be a real audit notification, that is exactly the moment to get an experienced Florida sales tax attorney involved — before you have said something to the Department that cannot be walked back.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Florida Department of Revenue call taxpayers before an audit?

Yes. It is standard Department of Revenue practice to open a sales and use tax or reemployment tax audit with a phone call to the business before the formal written audit notice is mailed.

Does the Florida Department of Revenue call about unpaid taxes or late filings?

Yes. The Department's collections staff routinely calls businesses that have fallen behind on filing returns or remitting the tax they collected, in addition to sending written delinquency notices.

Does the Florida Department of Revenue call as part of a criminal investigation?

Yes. In more serious cases involving unremitted sales tax, a Department of Revenue criminal investigator may contact a business as part of an active investigation, typically followed by a subpoena or other formal legal process.

Does the Florida Department of Revenue send text messages about tax refunds?

No. The Department has stated publicly that it does not send text messages soliciting payment or banking information, and any refund-related text asking you to click a link is a scam.

What phone number can I call to verify a Department of Revenue employee?

Call the Department's Taxpayer Services line at 850-488-6800 using a number you look up independently, not a number given to you by the caller.

How do I report a suspected Department of Revenue impersonation scam?

Report it to the Department's Office of Inspector General at 850-617-8152, and consider also reporting it to the Federal Trade Commission and the Florida Attorney General's Office.

Will the Department of Revenue ever ask for payment by gift card or cryptocurrency?

No. Legitimate Florida tax debts are paid through the Department's own payment channels, never through gift cards, cryptocurrency, or a wire transfer demanded during a phone call.

About the Author

James H. Sutton, Jr., CPA, Esq. is a State and Local Tax (SALT) attorney whose practice area is almost exclusively Florida sales and use tax controversy. James is a Shareholder at the Law Offices of Moffa, Sutton & Donnini, P.A. He can be reached directly at 813-775-2131, by email at JamesSutton@FloridaSalesTax.com, or through www.FloridaSalesTax.com. If you have any questions, then Mr. Sutton has a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION policy.

About the Firm

The Law Offices of Moffa, Sutton & Donnini, P.A. is a Florida law firm that works almost exclusively in the area of Florida state and local tax (SALT) controversy, with offices in Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, and Tallahassee. The firm's attorneys and CPAs have over 200 years of combined experience handling Florida tax audits, protests, and litigation.

Additional Resources

Florida Sales Tax Criminal Investigations, published June 24, 2026, by James H. Sutton, Jr., CPA, Esq.

FLORIDA SALES TAX ARREST – PALM BEACH BBQ & SEAFOOD OWNER, published August 23, 2026, by James H Sutton Jr, CPA, Esq.

FLORIDA SALES TAX AUDIT HELP, published June 20, 2026, by James H Sutton, Jr, CPA, Esq.

Florida Sales Tax Voluntary Disclosure: The Best Way to Clean Up a Florida Sales Tax Problem, published May 26, 2026, by James H. Sutton, Jr., CPA, Esq.

Letter from Florida Department of Revenue: Sales Tax, published October 9, 2022, by James H. Sutton, Jr., CPA, Esq.

Phone Call From Florida Department of Revenue: Sales Tax, published October 15, 2022, by James H. Sutton, Jr., CPA, Esq.