Scammers gonna scam, scam, scam, scam, scam. Okay, besides the Taylor Swift reference, this is about how to spot IRS scammers. Don’t be scared, the IRS will never treat you the way some scammer just treated me. Pay attention, be on alert, and if you get a call from this number: 718-551-9484 answer it, tell them you know they are scamming you, and report it to the National Do Not Call Registry.
On May 5 at 11.03 a.m., I got a call from New York. I had sent in a request for information from a company, but I wasn’t sure where it was based. I also have pending applications for jobs before I started working for CrowdSurf.
I answered and on the other line was a man with a thick Indian accent. He mispronounced my name, as most people do, and he told me that he was with Legal Affairs in the Department of Treasury with the IRS. I could barely understand him so at first I thought he was blabbing about some identity theft scam. People will do this too. I hung up, now perturbed. About a minute passes and I see I have only a missed voicemail, no missed call. The call said to call him back and that there was some kind of “Law Enforcement action being started in my (your) name.” I thought that was weird so I called him back. I could barely understand what he was saying, his accent was so thick. He said his name was Jack Tober.
I call back and now reach a man named Jason. I realize somewhere in the recesses of my head that it is the same man “Jack” that called me, he just changed his name to Jason and spoke in a higher pitch. He says that I have an “arrest warrant” out “in my name” and that local police authorities and investigators are “tracing this call” so “be careful what you say.” He reads me some kind of code and says that I was “fraudulent” on my taxes five years ago! There was only one problem, “Jack” or “Jason” I was 15 in 2011! I wasn’t filing taxes… I was working at an Ice Cream shop.
This conversation continued and I ran downstairs to tell my mom what was going on. By this point, I was freaking out. An arrest warrant, you’re going to be arrested, they’re tracking you now. I tried to speak up and say that my identity had recently tried to have been stolen. He took a harsh tone with me. I shushed him again and told him that I’m handing the phone to my mom. He said, “No. We will not speak to a third party person this is only for you.” I was going to tell him I’m calling my lawyer. He wouldn’t let me speak and told me that as we speak police are coming to my house to arrest me and I “will spend six months in jail” Mom’s frown turned into a soft look and she told me hang up. At this point, I thought I was gonna throw up! I was convinced, those people are pretty convincing. Mom gently told me that it’s been going around on Facebook and to ignore calls like that. That I’m not going to be arrested for “fraudulent taxes” and to relax.
Once I came to my journalist senses, I reported their number and what happened to the National Do Not Call Registry. I suggest you do this same. During my research, I found out that this thing happens all the time and they will go after individuals who filed a W-2 tax form.
Callers claim to be employees of the IRS but they are not. These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may know a lot about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling.
Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting. Or, victims may be told they have a refund due to try to trick them into sharing private information. If the phone isn't answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” callback request.
Note that the IRS will never:
1) call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
2) demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
3) require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
4) ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone or
5) threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
I hope this can help save you a heart attack, panic attack, or just a nauseating moment in which you think you’re about to be arrested.
