They are coming from cowardly criminals hiding behind a magicJack device plugged in at some God-forsaken corner of the world where there is Internet service. They simply use a magicJack device and your fear of the IRS the same way a common thief uses a toy pistol hidden in the pocket of his overcoat to make a bulge that looks like a real gun.
You can verify that this is a magicJack number by searching for it at http://www.phonevalidator.com .
The IRS phone scam has been extensively researched at
http://www.pindropsecurity.com/consumer-fraud ... irs-phone-scam/ and it was found that magicJack numbers are frequently used, and many of the scammers are operating out of India. There is even an audio recording of a call returned to one of these numbers and a written transcript of the recording contained in links from the Pindrop Security blog.
MagicJacks are readily obtainable outside of the United States for about $100 US and can come with up to a year of free calling to the U.S. and Canada as well as a free US-based phone number. In India, see, for example,
http://magicjack.in .
If the scammer wants to make the call look as though it comes from the IRS or the federal government, he will choose a 202 (Washington, DC) area code number assigned by YMAX Corporation. If the scammer is ignorant, he will choose a 206 (Washington State) area code telephone number because he won't know the difference between the seat of the federal government and the state of Washington -- they both are "Washington," right? Sometimes they will choose an entirely different area code for reasons known only to the scammer.
It doesn't take long to turn a profit on scams such as this even if only 1 or 2% of the people they call are fooled into sending a few thousand dollars to the scammers.
In addition to the regular reporting channels, e.g., the Department of the Treasury, the FTC, and/or your local state attorney general's office, you might also report the abuse to YMAX Corp. This corporation is a fully-owned subsidiary of the company that sells magicJacks and is in charge of assigning telephone numbers to magicJack devices. I have seen reports that they are pretty good at responding to complaints and may be able to permanently shut off a magicJack device, if necessary, so that it can never be used again.
The YMAX Corp. main web page is at:
http://www.ymaxcorp.com
and their site giving information on how to lodge a complaint is at:
http://www.ymaxcorp.com/contact.html
Note that the "contact" website for YMAX Corporation gives a clickable link to a "live chat" where you can make your complaint.
These stupid sons of [***] called my father who is a truck driver and was on the road. Nearly gave him a heart attack. Yelled at him, and said they're from an IRS office in D.C. and he has 72 hrs before he gets arrested and taken to court in D.C. We live in Illinois. After much searching and freaking out, I decided to call them back and inquire. Basically it ended up being a shouting match over the phone (first clue it was a scam). Who would yell at me in a professional setting?!? So then I asked them, if they really were from the IRS, what my name was. They had no idea and started shouting and saying I'm being taken to court for calling them scammers...Uhh...I think freedom of speech is pretty clear about that. ANYWAY - Don't call them back if you get a voicemail in an Indian accent with vague info - Don't answer, Don't provide them with more info. They are hackers, and they can get your name and various other info but that doesn't make them legitimate. [***].
They are coming from cowardly criminals hiding behind a magicJack device plugged in at some God-forsaken corner of the world where there is Internet service. They simply use a magicJack device and your fear of the IRS the same way a common thief uses a toy pistol hidden in the pocket of his overcoat to make a bulge that looks like a real gun.
You can verify that this is a magicJack number by searching for it at http://www.phonevalidator.com .
The IRS phone scam has been extensively researched at
http://www.pindropsecurity.com/consumer-fraud ... irs-phone-scam/ and it was found that magicJack numbers are frequently used, and many of the scammers are operating out of India. There is even an audio recording of a call returned to one of these numbers and a written transcript of the recording contained in links from the Pindrop Security blog.
MagicJacks are readily obtainable outside of the United States for about $100 US and can come with up to a year of free calling to the U.S. and Canada as well as a free US-based phone number. In India, see, for example,
http://magicjack.in .
If the scammer wants to make the call look as though it comes from the IRS or the federal government, he will choose a 202 (Washington, DC) area code number assigned by YMAX Corporation. If the scammer is ignorant, he will choose a 206 (Washington State) area code telephone number because he won't know the difference between the seat of the federal government and the state of Washington -- they both are "Washington," right? Sometimes they will choose an entirely different area code for reasons known only to the scammer.
It doesn't take long to turn a profit on scams such as this even if only 1 or 2% of the people they call are fooled into sending a few thousand dollars to the scammers.
In addition to the regular reporting channels, e.g., the Department of the Treasury, the FTC, and/or your local state attorney general's office, you might also report the abuse to YMAX Corp. This corporation is a fully-owned subsidiary of the company that sells magicJacks and is in charge of assigning telephone numbers to magicJack devices. I have seen reports that they are pretty good at responding to complaints and may be able to permanently shut off a magicJack device, if necessary, so that it can never be used again.
The YMAX Corp. main web page is at:
http://www.ymaxcorp.com
and their site giving information on how to lodge a complaint is at:
http://www.ymaxcorp.com/contact.html
Note that the "contact" website for YMAX Corporation gives a clickable link to a "live chat" where you can make your complaint.
Further to my previous reply, here's a recent example of an IRS phone scam that was stopped by an alert clerk, and some advise from the South San Francisco, CA police about these scams:
http://pacifica.patch.com/groups/police-and-f ... -francisco53309
And here's yet another instance in Florida of this type of scam coming from India using US telephone numbers:
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/25971726/phone-sca ... ey#.U8GKEGK9KSM
These people are scammers. I applied for a loan from USFastCash. They told me I was approved for a loan of $1500.oo which I Have not received. They deposited several amounts of money into my checking account which I immediately had to send back to them. They did this about 4 times, then after I sent the ,money back to them they gave me some story about difficulty in depositing my loan amount into my account. When I asked what the problem was they couldn't tell me. Finally they said they could sent the money via Western Union but I had to pay $120.00 for the transfer.I told them no and I have not received my loan. DO NOT SEND THESE PEOPLE ANY MONEY THREY ARE SCAMMERS!!!