The holiday season brings warnings to consumers about fraudulent activity. Retailers and consumers have already been advised about phony money circulated locally. Fake one hundred dollar bills have been reported in Watseka and in Newton and Jasper County in Indiana.

Now, Gilman Police are reporting phone scams. Chief Jason Anderson tells WGFA News he's received two recent complaints of a caller claiming to be representing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The caller is asking would-be victims to direct funds to a money-pack or pre-paid gift cards, then when the caller requests you scratch off and reveal code numbers, that amount of money is wiped from the card and disappears. Authorities report it's next to impossible to find the person responsible.

Chief Anderson points out, the IRS doesn't do business like this over the phone and would never call.

As always, end such calls as quickly as possible. The rule of thumb is, only do business with people you're familiar with. Guard your personal information and credit card information. Never provide anyone with your bank account info.

Feel free to report any and all suspicious activity.

94.1 WGFA