Don't give the crooks the time of day and let the phone ring without letting them leave you messages. IRS doesn't issue threats or forewarn of arrests, much less call you at random. Tell him to blow it out his backside if you talk to him. They can't do squat if you don't answer.
I had 2 missed calls from 202-241-1286 and this person with a Indian/middle eastern accent called Thomas Jackson, left me a voice mail saying he was a criminal investigator with the IRS and was informing me that i hadn't paid my taxes and that local police was going to arrest me within 3 days and confiscate and freeze all my assets. I called the number back and the same person picked up the phone right away, which was a red flag because IRS has automated systems when you call and not just one agent. I told him my name and he asked me what number did we call you on, which was weird because if it was IRS they would ask you for you social security number to pull up you account not cell phone number. Then he was telling me the same thing he said in his voicemail, then he asked me if i wanted to know more detail about the taxes that i owe and i said yes because i have no idea what you talking about. Also the phone line was really bad, static and could barely hear. so he "transfered" me to William Smith and he told me i hadn't paid federal taxes from 2012-2014. I asked him how was i supposed to pay these taxes and he said you pay them when you do you taxes, which tells me these people have no idea how our tax procces works. Then while i was arguing with him about federal taxes, i googled the number and found this website. These are definitly SCAMMERS trying to scare you to pay the amount the amount the tell you. I should've played along and asked them how should i pay it but i didn't think about it.
These are criminal extortionists operating in overseas boiler rooms using VOIP to alter their identities and locations and out of the reach of US law enforcement.
If someone calls saying he's an IRS agent and demands that you send money immediately, hang up.
It's a phone scam.In fact, it tops the IRS "Dirty Dozen" list of tax scams this year, and it's been surging in recent months, the agency said Thursday.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), which oversees the IRS, has received reports of 290,000 scam calls since October 2013 and said nearly 3,000 victims have been swindled out of $14 million so far.
By altering their caller ID number to make it look like they're calling from an IRS office, these scammers often threaten vulnerable people like the elderly and new immigrants with things like arrest, deportation or the loss of their driver's license if they don't pay immediately for money purportedly owed.
Often leaving messages that say it's "urgent" you call them back, the scammers use common names and sometimes say they are from the IRS Criminal Division. They may even claim to know the last four digits of your Social Security number and send follow-up emails that appear to be from the IRS, TIGTA said.
They often demand that payments be made by prepaid debit card.
Once they make their threats, the scammers have been known to call back and again disguise their caller ID so it appears they are calling from the police department or the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Or sometimes when they call, they may say you have a refund due and ask you to provide personal information so you can claim it.
The real IRS will usually contact you by regular mail first, if it needs to contact you at all. And the agency never demands immediate payment by phone or asks for credit card or debit numbers if they do call. It also never asks for personal or financial information by email, text or social media.
If you get what you suspect is a scam call, report it to TIGTA through its Web site or call 800-366-4484.
ALSO IMPERSONATING THE US GOV'T / SEVERAL GOV'T OFFICES AND PERSONS....BEWARE !!!
- they are also impersonating DEA officials / IRS / FAKE LAW FIRMS etc.... with threats to arrest you unless you immediately send money via wire transfer / western union to some offshore country !!!!! obvious scam !!!
some are landlines...many are cell phones...some are spoofed and linked to offshore foreign call centers / countries !!!!
we've traced back most of these numbers to offshore foreign call centers mostly in INDIA / THAILAND / AFRICA / JAMAICA ETC....
here's a few other numbers posted from the same area code offering a wide variety of scams / fake emails and scams after posting something on craigslist ( old scam ) ...... collecting for non existant " payday loans "....free money / scam giveaways / calling on behalf of a humane society..... $1,000's in free gov't money......... etc etc.....stories change out all the time......and the usual nonsense!!!
** mysteriously call to claim they have several thousand of dollars to send you / give ....just provide your bank account and credit card right away etc etc.........scam scam
several of these are the usual long ongoing scams such as : you have won a free walmart / bestbuy gift card....or you have won a free ipad etc......all long ongoing scams............
some OTHER numbers scammers are using : a small list of hundreds of numbers they use ) !