"The IRS announced on May 20, 2016 that as of that date, all initial contacts with taxpayers to commence an audit examination must be made by mail, instead of the telephone, using official IRS initial contact letters. Until recently, making initial contact by telephone to schedule an appointment to initiate a field examination had been a long-standing policy and practice. The IRS has implemented the change in practice in response to the continuing threat of phone scams, phishing, and identity theft."