I have received calls from this number now 2 days in a row. Today they left a message, that was clearly computer generated, but conveniently skipped any identifying information. Just threatened legal action if I don't respond to them. Then said, "Take care" after all the threatening warnings. A little out of character, don't you think?
I know I have no outstanding debt or IRS issues, so this is definitely a scam. Don't fall for it! Next time, I'm answering, and blowing a whistle as loud as I can into the phone. That's been my answer to crooks over the phone, since my grandpa taught it to me as a kid. Works great!
Caller I.D. just said, "D.C. USA"
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:
I received a phone call from the number above on my cell phone. The caller didn't identify the company clearly and it stated that I shouldn't ignore the call or legal action could be taken against me. I don't think that it is legit and I will block this number
I have received calls from this number now 2 days in a row. Today they left a message, that was clearly computer generated, but conveniently skipped any identifying information. Just threatened legal action if I don't respond to them. Then said, "Take care" after all the threatening warnings. A little out of character, don't you think?
I know I have no outstanding debt or IRS issues, so this is definitely a scam. Don't fall for it! Next time, I'm answering, and blowing a whistle as loud as I can into the phone. That's been my answer to crooks over the phone, since my grandpa taught it to me as a kid. Works great!
Caller I.D. just said, "D.C. USA"
I received couple o phone calls from the number above on my home phone. The caller left the message that I should not ignore the call or legal action could be taken against me. The caller identified the company was Internal Revenue Service. This message is the third one. the first call number was 202-506-8682 which I blocked. So far I haven't had any problem with the IRS and I don't think the call is legit so I report this and block the above number.