after getting this *private number* calling me for days on end, I finally just picked up the telephone. It was a prerecorded message saying that I was under tax investigation and that I had to call this 201 telephone number immediately to avoid having my assets and bank accounts seized.. I received a call similar to this about 6 months ago. It is a tax scam. If you get the message do not call the number back. Valid IRS and state tax officials would contact you directly by mail and not call from a private number.
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 $14 million so far.
By altering their caller ID number to make it look like they're calling from an IRS office, these scammers often threaten vulnerable people like the elderly and new immigrants with things like arrest, deportation or the loss of their driver's license if they don't pay immediately for money purportedly owed.
Often leaving messages that say it's "urgent" you call them back, the scammers use common names and sometimes say they are from the IRS Criminal Division. They may even claim to know the last four digits of your Social Security number and send follow-up emails that appear to be from the IRS, TIGTA said.
They often demand that payments be made by prepaid debit card.
Once they make their threats, the scammers have been known to call back and again disguise their caller ID so it appears they are calling from the police department or the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Or sometimes when they call, they may say you have a refund due and ask you to provide personal information so you can claim it.
The real IRS will usually contact you by regular mail first, if it needs to contact you at all. And the agency never demands immediate payment by phone or asks for credit card or debit numbers if they do call. It also never asks for personal or financial information by email, text or social media.
If you get what you suspect is a scam call, report it to TIGTA through its Web site or call 800-366-4484.
My daughter just received a call from this number. 201 676 2298 some Indian guy was saying that she was under tax investigation and that she had to make a 4000$ payment immediately to avoid having her assets and bank accounts seized..I told her to hung up and I called the number back immediately. First no one answered. Second time I called same Indian guy answered the phone. When I asked who he was he said he was IRS investigator :) form Washington DC. He even give me his ID number: 0266149. But after I asked why he was calling me from NJ number if he was in WASHINGTON DC and asked for his supervisor or manager he got really mad, he threatened me and hang up. Definitely it was a scam..
I had several messages on my land line from the "IRS" I called back and he said my maiden name. I confirmed my first name but said it was not the correct last name. He then said my address, when he asked to confirm it my response was possibly. He was puzzled by this and I then told him I would not confirm anything until he told me what the purpose of his call was. Then he hung up on me. I called back several times with the response of someone hanging up. Then someone finally did answer he stated we are about to close, and please call back tomorrow. If you are going to scam someone you should at least be polite to them!