The calls are not coming from California.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.
an india speaking man called and said i owe the irs x..amount of dollars and told me the police were on there way and they would take my home and seize any moneys from bank acounts and i would be put in jail...i hung up
Received call on my cell phone on Wednesday, April 1, 2015. A message was left on my phone and identified her as Officer Nicki Johnson with the IRS. Please call the hotline to her division (415)413-3041 before action is taken. I missed the call and called the number back. When I called I spoke with a lady who spoke in broken english and identified her self as Officer Nicki Johnson. She asked me if I had a lawyer present. She proceeded to tell me that the IRS was suing me for back taxes I didn't claim on my 2011, 2012 & 2013. She said they were going to seize all my assets. I told her I could not understand what she was saying due to her accent. She asked for the last 4 digits for my SS # and my name. She asked me to spell it. She totally caught me off guard and I gave her the info (yes stupid on my part). She evidently was having trouble with my name and asked me to spell it. I asked her if there was someone else I could speak with. She told me to listen to what she was saying. I asked why I had not been notified of this until now? She said because I was being audited and it showed up. Again I told her I couldn't understand her and would like to speak to someone who speaks english. I told her I would have my Lawyer call them and we would get this straightened out. She began speaking again, and I told her I wasn't going to talk to her I wanted someone I could understand. She called me b@#$& and hung up. May daughter works for a Law Firm, I was so upset I called her and she put me through to one of the Lawyers who told me it was a scam. He suggested I get one of the credit monitoring programs to keep an eye on my credit, to call the Attorney General's office and register the call. Attorney General made notes and suggested that I contact the Federal Trade Commission and also register a complaint with them, & to contact the Credit Bureau and IRS.gov and fill out the forms on-line that are available if you feel you could be at risk of Identify Theft. The last thing I did was contact my banking institution and put safe guards on my account. These will notify me of anyone trying to access my account, change my address, phone number, PIN, etc. The Attorney General's representative I spoke with asked me the question "Has the IRS ever called me before"? My answer was "No". He said they DON'T EVERY CALL! They contact you through registered or certified mail. I did everything that was suggested. So that is my story! I spent about 2 1/2 hours at work trying to put my mind at ease. I don't make alot of $$$$ but what I do make is earned. It really irritates me that the low life's in other countries think so little of the USA, that they try to still from the US citizens. Let's work together to eliminate their success!