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.
have received NUMEROUS phone messages from this number stating that its the IRS and they are going to start a lawsuit against me if I didn't call back immediately. When I called the number from my office the person who picked up couldn't speak English very well I told him I was calling the Better Business Bureau to report this. When I got home from work there were 4 more messages saying it was my last final chance to call back the IRS or they would proceed with the lawsuit. Upon researching this number I find it is listed to a Veronica Glade living in Washington and working at a Best Western or living there. There has to be a way to stop this person from scamming innocent people!!!
Had four calls in a row starting and ending around 11:00 am Thursday morning. Stated the IRS was filing a lawsuit against me. When I called I got an answering machine saying the person I was calling was not available. Called around 6:30pm when I got home. I am referring tomorrow to my Attorney General's office in Los Angeles.
Got an automated phone message on my land line. It said it was the IRS, and that I needed to call 360-474-4240 immediately because the IRS was filing a law suit against me. I called the number and a man with an India accent answered, stating IRS. He knew my address, and my husbands name. He said the police would be coming to place me under arrest. I never got a letter in the mail from the IRS. If this is a scam, I don't know what he got out of it because he did not tell me what I owed on taxes. To my knowledge, I don't owe the IRS anything. I paid my taxes early after having them filed.