Who called from 2022412679

I received 3 calls today (3/15/2014), 2 from 202-241-6439 ( one of them is fully recorded) and 1 from 850-810-5348, claiming to be from IRS, and they want me to call them back.

Just a note, these guys have been harassing me and other citizens, can we not have the Gov. arrest them? Should we ask the Gov. to pass a law to arrest & deport these scammers? If the calls are originating from outside USA, let the Gov. to Gov. communicate and have these people punished. I know they can be easily traced as they are most likely making VOIP calls.    

Here is what I get from phonevalidator.com about this number:

Phone Number:    202-241-2679    
Date of this Report:    March 15, 2014
Phone Line Type:    LANDLINE
Phone Company:    YMAX CORP -- POSSIBLE VOIP
Phone Location:    WASHINGTON, DC

The "Phone Location" has nothing to do in this case with where they are calling from.  The people calling probably procured a magicJack somehow.  I understand that these come with trial accounts, typically 6 or 12 months, the price of which is included in the price for the magicJack hardware.

In any event, it's easy enough to get one of these devices, plug it in overseas, choose a number from wherever YMAX Corporation still has numbers available (YMAX Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of magicJack, by the way), and then have a device that can be plugged in anywhere there is Internet service.  Once plugged in, it can be used to call (almost) any number in the United States at no additional cost, no matter where the caller is.

If necessary, the account holder's name and email address can be falsified to make it harder to locate the owner, and I don't think a credit card is required for the initial free trial.

MagicJacks are wonderful devices when used properly, but they also make a great tool for a small-time scammer.  YMAX Corporation, according to accounts I have read, has been quite cooperative in providing information to the proper authorities when they had complaints about scams originating from magicJack numbers.  But if their information is falsified, the information that YMAX provides may be of little help.  And if they are calling from a country that does not cooperate or places a low priority on tracking down and arresting their own citizens for scam calls to the US and/or are placing calls via a proxy anonymizer service, there's probably nothing US law enforcement can do besides warn you about this type of scam.  And the IRS *HAS* done that.  You can also find out ways to block calls from this number.

This is a phishing scam. Kevin Marshal claims to be auditing you, says he's with the CID, central investigation division, and finishes the message with "God be with you". The IRS will never notify you of a audit over the phone, or in a voicemail. Only US Mail.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today warned consumers about a sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, throughout the country.

Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting.

“This scam has hit taxpayers in nearly every state in the country.  We want to educate taxpayers so they can help protect themselves.  Rest assured, we do not and will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone, nor request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer,” says IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel. “If someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from the IRS and threatens police arrest, deportation or license revocation if you don’t pay immediately, that is a sign that it really isn’t the IRS calling.” Werfel noted that the first IRS contact with taxpayers on a tax issue is likely to occur via mail
Other characteristics of this scam include:
Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.
Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security Number.
Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it’s the IRS calling.
Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls.
Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.
After threatening victims with jail time or driver’s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim.
If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here’s what you should do:
If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue – if there really is such an issue.
If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you’ve never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats as described above), then call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1.800.366.4484.
If you’ve been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov.  Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" to the comments of your complaint.
Taxpayers should be aware that there are other unrelated scams (such as a lottery sweepstakes) and solicitations (such as debt relief) that fraudulently claim to be from the IRS.
The IRS encourages taxpayers to be vigilant against phone and email scams that use the IRS as a lure. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information.  This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels. The IRS also does not ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts. Recipients should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, forward the e-mail to [email protected].

More information on how to report phishing scams involving the IRS is available on the genuine IRS website, IRS.gov.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Warns-of-Pervasive-Telephone-Scam

Scam. HE SAID THE COPS WERE ABOUT TO ARREST ME! OH NOOOOOOOO!!