If they sound intimidating, don't pay.
If they ask for a prepaid gift card or a credit card, don't give them one.
If they threaten to freeze your bank account, don't believe them.
If they ask for money immediately or threaten to charge and arrest you, hang up and report it immediately.
That's what federal authorities are recommending you do if you get called by someone pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation released a notice this morning about that particular scam after noticing a surge of complaints coming from people in the Jacksonville area.
Amanda Videll - a spokeswoman for the FBI's Jacksonville Division - says the scammers claim you owe thousands of dollars and are able to sound and appear like they're really from the IRS or any other federal agency.
"Scammers can often spoof caller ID information and make it appear that the caller is coming from a legitimate agency," Videll added. "If you have any concerns, just hang up on the caller and then call that agency back."
She recommends looking up the agency's number yourself and then calling that number to verify if the caller is legitimate should you have any doubts.
"You're welcome to do that anytime," Videll noted. "We would rather you do that than go ahead and provide money over to a criminal."
She recommends getting as much information as you can from the scammers - including the phone number that shows up on caller ID - before hanging up and reporting it to the proper authorities.
Floyd Rowe - a regular WOKV listener - reached out to our newsroom minutes after he said he got a threatening call from a man who told him he needed to pay $8,000 to settle his lawsuit with the IRS.
"At first, I got a little nervous, which you can imagine," Rowe said. "But I don't have a lawsuit."
Rowe said he didn't give the man any money and reached out to WOKV because he was afraid someone might fall into the trap.
IRS officials say none of their agents will call or send emails threatening an arrest or demanding immediate payment of an overdue tax bill, especially by asking for wire transfers, gift cards or pre-paid cards.
Aggressive tactics and demands for immediate payment are two of the biggest tell-tale signs you're dealing with a scammer, according to Videll.
Those who would like to report receiving such a call can click here for the United States Treasury Department, click here for the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center or click here to reach the Federal Trade Commission.
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