Caller did not state where he was calling from or who he was calling for. Said his name was Frank Murphy and that I needed to return his call the second I got his message- either myself or my attorney. Said I better not disregard his call. If I don't return his call- he would like to wish me good luck as the situation unfolds on me.
Just got a call today 11/3 claiming to be fr the IRS and was going to be arrested for tax evasion. Said he was officer David Fisher with a foreign accent. Scammers!! Threatening, bogus
I got a call from this number - the call actually was for my mother, whom I had been taking care of until her death a year ago - saying that it was the criminal division of the IRS, and that there was a "criminal complaint" against her. This actually came in the form of a message. It was very threatening and demanded that she call back immediately. Since she's dead, I figured she could relax about the criminal complaint. Also, I've been handling her taxes, along with her accountant, and I'm quite certain that the IRS knows that she is deceased. They use toll-free numbers. I assumed that "917" was one of those offshore area codes, where I would be billed $1000/minute while they dragged out the conversation. I Googled the phone number and got to this website. What a nitwit scheme. I will say that the guy didn't sound Indian - more like a southerner, and he ended his message with "God bless you" - another tip off that he wasn't an IRS agent.
Caller left a message claiming to be a Officer xxx from a Crime Investigation Office. Requested that I call back right away because this was very important
This is a Pakistan or India based IRS scam. Do not fall for it. The IRS does not initiate any legal action via phone.
Read http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/press/press_tigta-2014-03.htm
As general background information, here are a few 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 but not by calling them back directly (the number may be spoofed and repeat calls by you may - under exceptional circumstances- amount to harassment). 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) 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 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:
A fellow with a mid-East or South Asian accent threatened me with an IRS lawsuit for tax fraud and when I said I had a great IRS record he threatened me with sheriff's at my door, property seizures, on and on. I said send me a letter like the IRS does and I'll see what you are talking about.