I got a call from the a Indian or Middle eastern accented person endlessly (man who claims to be David Miller), I tried not answering but he kept on calling until I answered and then asked for a call back, the number was 202-506-8133. so the next day I gave them my name, social security number and the number of bank accounts (this time it was a different person named Kevin Joe) and he said he will give me a call back but he never did. Now I noticed it was a scam. What should I do?
Got 2 calls from a man with a thick Middle Eastern accent saying I owe the IRS money. He gave this phone number, a case number, and the name of a man who handles the case. I asked for which tax year I owe taxes and he told me he is just a notifier and his boss can give me all the details when I call. Just registered the landline on the Do Not Call website shortly after.
This is a Pakistan or India based IRS scam. Do not fall for this. The IRS does not initiate any legal action via phone.
Read http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/press/press_tigta-2014-03.htm
There are a few things you can do:
1) Report it to TIGTA under http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml
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 use and can lead to termination of their contract. However only law enforcement can initiate the contact if you yourself are not a customer. Therefore, report it also to your local law enforcement agency.
3) Ultimately this is a case for the FBI legal attache in Islamabad or New Delhi. So 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 the political backing and the resources they need to work in India and Pakistan with the local authorities. Such a task force has already been set up in Jamaica to nab scammers there. It can happen on the subcontinent as well if you only take a little time to write and voice your anger. You can use the following template for your letter or email:
Senators
Use the district office address of your senator as displayed on http://www.senate.gov/
Your letter should be addressed as follows:
The Honorable (full name)
United States Senate
Mailing Address of District Office
City, State, Zip Code
Representatives (House)
Use the district office address of your district representative as displayed on
http://www.house.gov/
Your letter should be addressed as follows:
The Honorable (full name)
United States House of Representatives
Mailing Address of District Office
City, State, Zip Code
Dear Senator/Representative XXX
As your constituent, I am writing to urge you to demand decisive action from the FBI, the IRS and other federal agencies against organized crime directed against American citizens from abroad.
As widely reported by local and national media all across the United States and warned about by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (see http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/press/press_tigta-2014-03.htm) a tidal wave of fraud using Internet phones has hit the United States. Millions of dollars already have been stolen by criminals impersonating federal officers while hiding in countries like India and Pakistan, where most of the calls originate. There seems to be no end of it in sight.
I have personally been targeted by these scammers but it is the most vulnerable among us that I am concerned about primarily. The scheme is specifically singling out those that can least defend themselves against these crimes, in particular the elderly. I am also worried that given the origin of these gangsters, the money stolen from US citizens may be used for financing of terrorism or other activities directed against the national interests of the United States. But in spite of this clear and present danger to our country and its citizens I have seen no action worth mentioning by the FBI, the IRS or other federal agencies so far.
As a member of Congress overseeing the law enforcement agencies tasked with fighting fraud and ensuring national security, I implore you to make sure that they act on these threats and are given all the necessary resources to target these criminals in cooperation with foreign law enforcement.
This phone number 2025068133 has called me twice. Leaving messages about committing fraud with the IRS and to call them back immediately. The funny part is I have a call tracer on my phone and it traced it back to a number in Vancouver WA. With the carrier CenturyLink.
I got a call from the a Indian or Middle eastern accented person endlessly (man who claims to be David Miller), I tried not answering but he kept on calling until I answered and then asked for a call back, the number was 202-506-8133. so the next day I gave them my name, social security number and the number of bank accounts (this time it was a different person named Kevin Joe) and he said he will give me a call back but he never did. Now I noticed it was a scam. What should I do?
This was a Pakistan or India based IRS scam. The IRS does not initiate any legal action via phone.
Read http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/press/press_tigta-2014-03.htm
Alert your bank immediately, if you handed them any credit card or debit card information, block your cards immediately.
As general background information, here are a few other 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) 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: