If they call you, hang up the telephone." "This is a crime of opportunity, so the best thing you can do to protect yourself is to take away the opportunity," the Inspector General added. So while 9 out of 10 people will never make that return phone call, the one person who does is likely to be fooled.Īccording to figures released by Inspector General's office earlier this year, there have been roughly 290,000 contacts since October 2013, and nearly 3,000 victims who have collectively paid over $14 million because of the scam. This scam is designed for people who are likely to fall for it. Once they have your attention, they will say anything to con you out of your hard-earned cash," George added. The callers are aggressive, they are relentless and they are ruthless. "This scam, which is international in nature, has proven to be the largest scam of its kind that we have ever seen. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. "It is critical that all taxpayers continue to be wary of unsolicited telephone calls from individuals claiming to be IRS employees," said J. They will never call you to inform you of a lawsuit, nor would they call you to warn of a pending arrest. When you hear me speaking to "CVS" and asking for a form on the recording, all I did was run my finger over the microphone and pose the question to my cat.Īgain, the IRS will never call you in an attempt to collect payment like this. It's important to note, I never left the house. The number he called from is 20, which is also part of the scam. Moreover, kind man that he was, Mike called my cell phone so that he could walk me though the process when I was in the local CVS. Mike suggested MoneyGram as a form of payment, and was kind enough to find locations close to me where I could wire funds. Now, I just need to pay, but credit cards won't do. ![]() When asked to pick the settlement, I suggested $350.00, and Mike appeared to be fine with this amount. If you listen to the recording, you'll hear Mike stammer though the script as he reads my arrest affidavit.Īs luck would have it, I can settle the matter and avoid being arrested. In an admonishing tone, Mike seems skeptical that I don't know why I'm going to be arrested, but he's happy to share those details with me.Īs it turns out, "the IRS department" audited my taxes over the last four years, and "found a miscalculation" worth $4,200 USD. Mike: Now be sure that I have your address, tomorrow morning, be at your home, because the local sheriff police department, the local officer with the arrest warrant to arrest you, so just be at your residence. He was reading, line by line, from a formatted script, but he isn't used to it. One of the first things that stood out on the call, hammering home that something wasn't right, was the fact that Mike couldn't pronounce my name, and the phrasing used to repeat the address was broken. ![]() For someone who was already hooked by the previous call, these personal details could be all the scammers needed to prove legitimacy – after all, the person on the phone knows who you are and where you live. These details though can be a big part of the scam. He was wrong about my details, but that isn't important. Mike starts by confirming my name and address, but for most people this information is public record. The name and the ID are both false, but it's clear that Mike was working with a detailed script. However, once I gave mine and explained that I was calling about a message left by the IRS, I was transferred to Mike Wilson, who gave an "IRS ID" of RN531. Almost immediately, the phone was answered and we were greeted by someone who didn't give his name.
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