Thanks for the information below. I so agree with everything you've say below. I got called on 9/16/14. Please report to TIGTA if you got this call, so government can establish fraud patterns.
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:
Thanks for the information below. I so agree with everything you've say below. I got called on 9/16/14. Please report to TIGTA if you got this call, so government can establish fraud patterns.
Got a call from an unknown number, that left me a message with a recording stating i am being sued by the IRS and to call back the following number: 202-241-7029
When i called back, I spoke with "Adam Smith" ID# NW200717 and who had a heavy Indian accent and proceeded to tell me he's with the IRS and there's a lawsuit against me because i filed the wrong taxes and that they have been trying to reach me. He asked me to spell my name, which i stupidly did.
I asked him to let me know exactly how they tried to reach me since obviously they were able to get me on the phone, he proceeded to read me the "legal charges" against me which included the fact that i filed the wrong taxes and my job, my home and my accounts and everything will be seized, and I will face 5 years in jail.
I lost it and told him that first of all, I didn't understand a word he's saying since he has a heavy accent and so i demand to speak with a manager or someone else who can tell me what is going on. I heard whispering and then he hung up on me in the middle of my tirade. It upset me so much until i got back to my office and did a reverse number lookup to find out it is WSHNGTNZN1, DC - YMAX COMMUNICATIONS CORP. - DC
and that there is a lot of this crap happening.
I'm not sure why the FBI does not handle this once and for all, if people are filing complaints.