SANDPOINT — Local law enforcement officials are warning residents of a major increase in scam phone calls threatening arrest for unpaid taxes.

According to Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon, the police department has received more than a dozen calls from residents reporting similar phone calls. In all cases, individuals with heavy accents claim to be Internal Revenue Service agents and tell people they are in danger of being arrested for unpaid taxes. Representatives of AmericanWest Bank said members were calling them as well for details on the strange phone calls.

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