Thanks for posting the helpful info. These people are clearly amateurs. Incompetent, but very annoying. Everyone who is harassed by them should file complaints. I myself am on the Do Not Call List so will be contacting the FTC to report them asap.
Confirmed fraud attempt (IRS script). 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 but not by calling them back directly (the number may be spoofed and repeat calls by you may - under exceptional circumstances - amount to harassment). 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://m.ndtv.com/article/india/ex-call-centr ... 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 posting the helpful info. These people are clearly amateurs. Incompetent, but very annoying. Everyone who is harassed by them should file complaints. I myself am on the Do Not Call List so will be contacting the FTC to report them asap.
Got a call at 10 am with an the electronic telephone voice said it was the IRS with time sensitive information and to call back before they take any action against us. Needless to say I didn't call as IRS sends everything by mail.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has received reports related to a telephone scam in which the caller purports to be an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) representative. Using intimidation tactics, the caller tries to take control of the situation from the beginning. The caller advises the recipient of the call that the IRS has charges against them and threatens legal action and arrest. If the recipient questions the caller in any way, the caller becomes more aggressive.
The caller continues to intimidate by threatening to confiscate the recipient’s property, freeze bank accounts, and have the recipient arrested and placed in jail. The reported alleged charges include defrauding the government, money owed for back taxes, law suits pending against the recipient, and nonpayment of taxes.
The recipients are advised that it will cost thousands of dollars in fees/court costs to resolve this matter. The caller creates a sense of urgency by saying that being arrested can be avoided and fees reduced if the recipient purchases MoneyPak cards to cover the fees within an hour.
Sometimes the caller provides specific instructions on where to purchase the MoneyPak cards and the amount to put on each card. The caller tells the recipient not to tell anyone about the issue and to remain on the telephone until the MoneyPak cards are purchased and the MoneyPak codes are provided to the caller. The caller states that if the call is disconnected for any reason, the recipient would be arrested. Some recipients reported once the caller obtained the MoneyPak codes, they were advised that the transaction took too long and additional fees were required.
Call recipients, who are primarily immigrants, reported that the caller spoke with broken English or stated the caller had an Indian accent. If you receive a call similar to this follow these tips:
■Resist the pressure to act quickly.
■Report the contact to TIGTA at http://www.treasury.gov/tigta by clicking on the red button, “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting.”
■Use caution when asked to use a specific payment method. The IRS would not require a specific payment method such as a MoneyPak card or wire transfer.
■If you feel threatened, contact your local police department.
I got this exact same call today had me scared so I contacted the IRS after getting off the phone thinking to myself this could be a scam. The IRS told me to go to. http://www.treasury.gov/tigta and report it boy it feels like a BIG ROCK just fell of my chest !