Police in Winslow and Skowhegan are warning residents of scam phone calls in which the caller purports to be from the Internal Revenue Service and asks people to pay money over the phone.

The warnings come after the Skowhegan Police Department received about a dozen complaints about the calls on Friday and the Winslow Police Department received 40 to 50 complaints.

“Nobody was actually scammed and nobody lost money, but we did receive about 40 to 50 complaints about it,” Winslow police Officer John Veilleux said.

Veilleux said it is likely the calls in the two communities were related. Police have been unable to identify the caller, and he said it is likely the calls originated from another country.

“It is something that comes up every so often,” he said. “We remind people to not send money over the phone. If it’s a legitimate thing, you will probably receive something certified in the mail. Businesses or the government will not ask you to send money over the phone.”

Sgt. Brian Gardiner, of the Skowhegan Police Department, also said residents should report a call to police or the IRS directly if they don’t feel comfortable.

“Many people, thankfully, know this is a scam, but they can still let us know,” he said.

Rachel Ohm — 612-2368

rohm@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @rachel_ohm