Watch out for scam artists who make automated calls demanding tax payments on iTunes and other gift cards, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The IRS said Tuesday it “has seen an increase in ‘robo-calls’ where scammers leave urgent callback requests through the phone telling taxpayers to call back to settle their ‘tax bill.’ These fake calls generally claim to be the last warning before legal action is taken. Once the victim calls back, the scammers may threaten to arrest, deport or revoke the driver’s license of the victim if they don’t agree to pay.”

“It used to be that most of these bogus calls would come from a live person. Scammers are evolving and using more and more automated calls in an effort to reach the largest number of victims possible,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.

The IRS said that “any request to settle a tax bill by putting money on any form of gift card is a clear indication of a scam.”

The federal agency said scammers might try one or more of these tactics to get your money:

• Demand payment for a “federal student tax.”

• Solicit W-2 information from payroll and human resources professionals.

• Say they want to “verify” tax return information over the phone.

• Pretend to be from the tax preparation industry.

The IRS said it will never:

• Call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.

• Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

• Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.

• Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer.

• Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

The IRS said if you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money and you don’t owe taxes:

• Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.

• Contact the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page or call 800-366-4484.

• Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.

• If you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS directly at 800-829-1040.