The number is a YMAX Corp. Landline number in Washington, D.C. That almost ALWAYS means that it's coming from a magicJack, and that the caller may be anywhere in the world that has Internet service. The caller just chose to have YMAX Corp. assign one of their Washington, DC numbers to their magicJack device.
Here is a story from FOX 13, Tampa Bay, Florida about these calls. It's the best explanation I've found so far of these calls as well as what to do when you receive one and to whom to report the call and how:
Before you report such a call, make sure you include your phone number, the caller's phone number, the exact time and date you received the call, and check a source like http://www.phonevalidator.com to see whether the call came from YMAX Communications and report that, too. This is all information that may allow the call to be traced and the source of the threats identified. It may also create a big surprise for the scammers because YMAX can permanently disable a magicJack for violating the terms of use for their service.
The number is a YMAX Corp. Landline number in Washington, D.C. That almost ALWAYS means that it's coming from a magicJack, and that the caller may be anywhere in the world that has Internet service. The caller just chose to have YMAX Corp. assign one of their Washington, DC numbers to their magicJack device.
Here is a story from FOX 13, Tampa Bay, Florida about these calls. It's the best explanation I've found so far of these calls as well as what to do when you receive one and to whom to report the call and how:
Before you report such a call, make sure you include your phone number, the caller's phone number, the exact time and date you received the call, and check a source like http://www.phonevalidator.com to see whether the call came from YMAX Communications and report that, too. This is all information that may allow the call to be traced and the source of the threats identified. It may also create a big surprise for the scammers because YMAX can permanently disable a magicJack for violating the terms of use for their service.
This is a Pakistan or India based IRS scam. Do not fall for it. The IRS does not initiate any legal action via phone.
Read http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/press/press_tigta-2014-03.htm
As general background information, here are a few things you can do:
1) Report it to TIGTA under http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml especially if you have become a victim (lost money, gave personal information etc.). You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint (include “IRS Telephone Scam" in your complaint). This way you can also help the government establish specific fraud patterns.
2) Help kill their phone lines. The scammers use Voice over IP lines (e.g. magicJack (Ymax corporation)) to make it seem as if they are calling from the US. This is always against these companys' terms of service and can lead to immediate termination of their contract and blocking of their IP addresses for future attempts to register. Do a reverse look up of their telephone number (e.g. www.whitepages.com) to identify the Voice over IP provider and report it to the company and or law enforcement (local police and/or state attorney general)
3) If you are really annoyed: call or write to your representative in Congress. As these scams happen all over the country maybe this will trigger a reaction and provide US law enforcement agencies with the political backing and the resources they need to work in India and Pakistan together with local authorities (it can happen, read: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/ex-call-cen ... mmission-320427). A US task force has already been set up in Jamaica to nab scammers there (see http://www.ice.gov/doclib/news/library/reports/cornerstone/cornerstone7-1.pdf). You can use the following template for your letter (more powerful!) or email: