Hi, I just now received a message on my machine asking to call back a man named Michael Edwards who basically told me he was from Legal Affairs at the US Treasury. I called the number back and a woman answered and was extremely nasty to me when I called her out on this scam. She threatened that someone would arrest me within two hours. I told her I would call the police and she became nastier and hung up on me. I did call the police department and they did inform me this was a scam. BEWARE!!
They just called my wife. These people are so stupid. Caller id showed Sunnydale California but they said that they were the IRS. Especially since if it were the IRS it would be from the local IRS and they would audit first before issuing a fine...... So stupid.
These calls are not coming from the IRS or anywhere else in the US government.
They are coming from cowardly criminals hiding behind a magicJack device plugged in at some God-forsaken corner of the world where there is Internet service. They simply use a magicJack device and try to use your fear of the IRS and the federal government the same way a common thief uses a toy pistol hidden in the pocket of his overcoat to make a bulge that looks like a real gun.
You can verify that this is a magicJack number by searching for it at http://www.phonevalidator.com .
The IRS phone scam, in particular, has been extensively researched at
http://www.pindropsecurity.com/consumer-fraud ... irs-phone-scam/ and it was found that magicJack numbers are frequently used, and many of the scammers are operating out of India. There is even an audio recording of a call returned to one of these numbers and a written transcript of the recording contained in links from the Pindrop Security blog.
More recently, there has actually been a widespread resurgence of the IRS scam across multiple states, including California, Idaho, and Pennsylvania. Additionally, USTelecom, a trade association, warned consumers about an increase in Caller ID spoofing. See:
http://www.pindropsecurity.com/july-18-2014-the-week-in-phone-fraud/
MagicJacks are readily obtainable outside of the United States for about $100 US and can come with up to a year of free calling to the U.S. and Canada as well as a free US-based phone number. In India, see, for example,
http://magicjack.in .
If the scammer wants to make the call look as though it comes from the IRS or the federal government, he will choose a 202 (Washington, DC) area code number assigned by YMAX Corporation. If the scammer is ignorant, he will choose a 206 (Washington State) area code telephone number because he won't know the difference between the seat of the federal government and the state of Washington -- they both are "Washington," right? Sometimes they will choose an entirely different area code for reasons known only to the scammer.
It doesn't take long to turn a profit on scams such as this even if only 1 or 2% of the people they call are fooled into sending a few thousand dollars to the scammers.
Here's a recent example of an IRS phone scam that was stopped by an alert clerk, and some advise from the South San Francisco, CA police about these scams:
http://pacifica.patch.com/groups/police-and-f ... -francisco53309
And here's yet another instance in Florida of this type of scam coming from India using US telephone numbers:
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/25971726/phone-sca ... ey#.U8GKEGK9KSM
In addition to the regular reporting channels, e.g., the Department of the Treasury, the FTC, and/or your local state attorney general's office, you might also report the abuse to YMAX Corp. This corporation is a fully-owned subsidiary of the company that sells magicJacks and is in charge of assigning telephone numbers to magicJack devices. I have seen reports that they are pretty good at responding to complaints and may be able to permanently shut off a magicJack device, if necessary, so that it can never be used again.
The YMAX Corp. main web page is at:
http://www.ymaxcorp.com
and their site giving information on how to lodge a complaint is at:
http://www.ymaxcorp.com/contact.html
Note that the "contact" website for YMAX Corporation gives a clickable link to a "live chat" where you can make your complaint.
Would it be legal to get a police or boy scout whistle and blow it full scream into the phone when they call until their ears and head ring and they need to go to the doctor for a hearing aid?