Call said they where the IRS and there was litigation pending against me. Ironically, I had just read about a scam just like this.
And yes, this started to sound like a scam 15 sec into the call.
I received the same call, purporting to be the IRS notifying me of legal fraud on my part. Obviously, a scam. How can we report this to an investigative body?
IRS does not file lawsuits. Court action, if any is handled by the DOJ and all parties are entitled to legal assistance if it is a criminal matter. But--tax disputes are for the most part civil matters. 90% of all IRS tax disputes are settled administratively. IRS has absolutely no authority to call on local law enforcement for anything. Local law is never involved in IRS tax disputes. It has no powers of arrest. If LE is necessary, US Marshals do the job. IRS does not cold call anyone and ask for money. IRS does not accept Green card money paks for payment in any case. No one is prosecuted for ordinary tax disputes. IRS has absolutely no authority over anyone's professional license. Professional licensing is handled by state governments. Yes, levies on property to satisfy an existing tax obligation do occur, but only after a very long period of negotiation. And yes, liens are placed on individuals but usually after a lot of negotiation and a failure to reach a settlement. All determinations of tax liability are subject to appeals. All contacts by the IRS are initiated by US mail.
I received a call this morning from an "Officer John Cooper-Badge # 51960" declaring that multiple attempts had been made to contact me by the IRS to collect taxes due from a willful "miscalculations" on my federal tax returns in the amount of 3786.97 and that this was my last chance to pay the monies due through a "government certified center" or a warrant would be issued for my arrest today.......Wow, after several attempts to obtain more information, I called my accountant on my cell who confirmed that the IRS would not be calling me. I hung up on the "officer" who had said he had to stay on the line with me until the money was delivered to the "government certified center". Within a few minutes, I received a call from a woman who wanted to verify that I was indeed at my residence and that someone would be at my house to arrest me in ten minutes. I called my police department to find out if there was a warrant for my arrest. I knew this had to be a scam but had to confirm it. I am now filing an incident report with my local police. People who perpetrate these scams need to be behind bars!! I hope no one gives them money and that if they call you, get as much information as possible and file it with your local police.
These are criminal extortionists operating in overseas boiler rooms using VOIP to alter their identities and locations and out of the reach of US law enforcement.
If someone calls saying he's an IRS agent and demands that you send money immediately, hang up.
It's a phone scam.In fact, it tops the IRS "Dirty Dozen" list of tax scams this year, and it's been surging in recent months, the agency said Thursday.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), which oversees the IRS, has received reports of 290,000 scam calls since October 2013 and said nearly 3,000 victims have been swindled out of $14 million so far.
By altering their caller ID number to make it look like they're calling from an IRS office, these scammers often threaten vulnerable people like the elderly and new immigrants with things like arrest, deportation or the loss of their driver's license if they don't pay immediately for money purportedly owed.
Often leaving messages that say it's "urgent" you call them back, the scammers use common names and sometimes say they are from the IRS Criminal Division. They may even claim to know the last four digits of your Social Security number and send follow-up emails that appear to be from the IRS, TIGTA said.
They often demand that payments be made by prepaid debit card.
Once they make their threats, the scammers have been known to call back and again disguise their caller ID so it appears they are calling from the police department or the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Or sometimes when they call, they may say you have a refund due and ask you to provide personal information so you can claim it.
The real IRS will usually contact you by regular mail first, if it needs to contact you at all. And the agency never demands immediate payment by phone or asks for credit card or debit numbers if they do call. It also never asks for personal or financial information by email, text or social media.
If you get what you suspect is a scam call, report it to TIGTA through its Web site or call 800-366-4484.