By Catherine Haug, Sept 28, 2016; Updated Jun 19, 2017 and Mar 18, 2017
I’ve now gotten two of those calls, and it is likely that everyone – especially senior citizens – will get at least one of them. Normally I don’t pick up the phone unless I recognize the number. The first one (9/28/2016) was a 509 area code, which is just across the Columbia River from where I lived in Portland, and is where many of my former coworkers with whom I exchange Christmas cards, live. So I picked it up.
On the other end of the line was a recorded message that went something like this:
This is (male name), an IRS officer. Did you know there is a legal petition filed against you? Call me back immediately at 509-983-0040.
The second call (3/17/17) was with a female voice, but did not give a name. She said:
“an arrest warrant has been issued. Call me back immediately at 907-891-8644.“
If you get one of these calls, DO NOT CALL THE NUMBER. Note, there are many different scam numbers they use. I got two more calls in June 2017 giving the following numbers: 662-214-8288 and 330-954-6946, respectively. On the first of those calls, the voice said, “you and your property are being watched,” which is a clear threat that you should also report to the county sheriff or city police.
When I got the first call, my first thought was, “I wonder if this is that IRS scam I’ve heard about on the news?” So I googled the number, and got this: Scam Call Fighters (1), where it says:
The IRS will never call anyone “out of the blue;” (they) will send notices …. through the U.S. postal system of any taxes due, and will never ask for credit, debit or prepaid card details by any form of communication
The message is left by automated dialers set up by scammers in India & other foreign locations. The computers are programmed to call thousands of numbers everyday, to leave these threatening messages.
This is what I thought; the call is a federal crime. So I called the Flathead County Sheriff’s non-emergency number (406 758-5585) to find out what to do; after a bit of a hold, Igot good information, as follows (see also Scam Call Fighters (1)):
Report the call to:
- US Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1-800-366-4484 or 202-927-7018; or
- tigta.gov (2), and click on the “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” box near the upper-right corner of the page (3). There you can record information about the call, and report if they scammed you out of any money. Note that https://tigta.gov (2) is a secure website, meaning it is difficult for someone to hack (the link begins with’ https://’; the ‘s’ in https indicates a secure site). 6/19/17 update: You will be asked to create a 5-digit pin; be sure to record it somewhere where you can find it quickly. If someone from the Treasury department or IRS contacts you about your reporting, ask them to give you the pin; if they cannot give you the correct pin, be very cautious on the call; after hanging up, report this, too.
If you are threatened on the scam call, call your local police or sheriff’s office. When I got the second call (March 2017), I also notified the Flathead Co. Sheriff’s department because of the claim that an arrest warrant had been issued. The sheriff’s dispatcher said that the scammers are getting more personal, sometimes threatening harm. I was advised if that happens, to call 911 and an officer will come to my home.
References
- scamcallfighters.com/scam-call-5099830040-SCAM-CALL-509-983-0040-play-acting-as-the-IRS-Tax-Scam-51004.html
- treasury.gov/tigta or https://tigta.gov
- treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml
Tags: IRS scam