A police agency in Connecticut recently shared a lighthearted public service announcement by playing a recorded message the department received, ostensibly from the Internal Revenue Service.

https://www.facebook.com/1488309694761548/videos/2045959545663224/

“Guess what?” the Guilford Police Department’s post began. “The IRS called us and now we have ‘4 serious allegations pending for us.’ Sounds pretty serious.”

The smiley-face emojis that followed made it clear this was anything but a legitimate message, as did the “feeling amused” description that accompanied the post.

“Apparently the ‘local cops’ are going to come and arrest us if we don’t call back and pay a hefty sum of money to make this little IRS problem go away,” the agency added.

Authorities went on to describe the message as a “really, really bad scam” perpetrated against “the police department no less.”

Similar messages came in from four separate phone numbers, the agency wrote, using the experience to offer some tips about such scams.

“Don’t answer unknown calls and don’t call back numbers like this,” police warned, noting that the IRS will not call a citizen about a tax issue.

Authorities urged people to remain vigilant and refrain from treating such calls as ordinary telemarketers.

“They are criminals… they don’t care if you tell them not to call you or if you are on the ‘do not call list,'” the agency wrote.

Since the scams are often operated by computer programs, police say it is difficult to hold the perpetrators accountable.

[Featured image: Guilford Police Department/Facebook video screenshot]