[Nfbmo] Don't fall for this scam!

Daniel Garcia dangarcia3 at hotmail.com
Thu Feb 18 01:39:51 UTC 2016


Make sure to send the below information to this other list where you got the original message from. This press release from the Inspector General gives information on how to report such claims. Not a day goes by when I do not get a call like this at work, from a person saying they were a potential victim of these scammers.

Source:

https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/press/press_tigta-2016-01.htm

J. Russell George Urges Taxpayers to Remain on "High Alert" 
Expanded Outreach Effort Announced to Prevent More Losses to IRS Impersonators 
 

WASHINGTON - The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) urged taxpayers to remain on "High Alert" and announced additional outreach efforts to prevent them from falling victim to criminals who impersonate Internal Revenue Service and Treasury employees this filing season.

"The phone fraud scam has become an epidemic, robbing taxpayers of millions of dollars of their money," said J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. "We are making progress in our investigation of this scam, resulting in the successful prosecution of some individuals associated with it over the past year," he said, adding that over the summer, a ringleader was sentenced to more than 14 years in federal prison. "However, this is still a matter of high investigative priority."

TIGTA continues to receive reports of thousands of contacts every month in which individuals fraudulently claiming to be IRS officials make unsolicited calls and "robocalls" to taxpayers and demanding that they send them cash, he said.

"As the tax filing season begins, it is critical that all taxpayers continue to be wary of unsolicited telephone calls and e-mails from individuals claiming to be IRS and Treasury employees," said the Inspector General. "This scam has proven to be the largest of its kind that we have ever seen. The callers are aggressive and relentless," he said. "Once they have your attention, they will say anything to con you out of your hard-earned cash," George added. "We will be very aggressive in pursuing those perpetrating this fraud," the Inspector General said. "In the meantime, we need to do even more to warn taxpayers not to fall for it," he added.

TIGTA's expanded outreach initiative includes video Public Service Announcements in English and in Spanish that warn taxpayers about the scam. In addition, TIGTA is working with its partners in the public and private sector to help get the word out, both through traditional law enforcement channels and through direct outreach to associations, nongovernmental organizations, and the media.

TIGTA has received reports of roughly 896,000 contacts since October 2013 and has become aware of over 5,000 victims who have collectively paid over $26.5 million as a result of the scam, in which criminals make unsolicited calls to taxpayers fraudulently claiming to be IRS officials and demanding that they send them cash via prepaid debit cards, money orders or wire transfers from their banks.

"The number of people receiving these unsolicited calls from individuals who fraudulently claim to represent the IRS is growing at an alarming rate," George said. "At all times, especially around the time of the tax filing season, we want to make sure that taxpayers are alerted to this scam so they are not harmed by these criminals," he said, adding, "Do not become a victim."

"This is a crime of opportunity, so the best thing you can do to protect yourself is to take away the opportunity," the Inspector General added. "If someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from the IRS and uses threatening language if you do not pay immediately, that is a sign that it is not the IRS calling, and your cue to hang up," he said. "Again, do not engage with these callers. If they call you, hang up the telephone." 

Inspector General George noted that the scam has hit taxpayers in every State in the country. Callers claiming to be from the IRS tell intended victims they owe taxes and must pay using a pre-paid debit card, money order or a wire transfer. The scammers threaten those who refuse to pay with being charged for a criminal violation, a grand jury indictment, immediate arrest, deportation or loss of a business or driver's license. 

Here is what you need to know. The IRS generally first contacts people by mail - not by phone - about unpaid taxes and the IRS will not ask for payment using a prepaid debit card, a money order or wire a transfer. The IRS also will not ask for a credit card number over the phone. The callers who commit this fraud often:
*Utilize an automated robocall machine.
*Use common names and fake IRS badge numbers.
*May know the last four digits of the victim's Social Security Number.
*Make caller ID information appear as if the IRS is calling.
*Aggressively demand immediate payment to avoid being criminally charged or arrested.
*Claim that hanging up the telephone will cause the immediate issuance of an arrest warrant for unpaid taxes.
*Send bogus IRS e-mails to support their scam.
*Call a second or third time claiming to be the police or department of motor vehicles, and the caller ID again supports their claim.

If you get a call from someone claiming to be with the IRS asking for a payment, here's what to do:
*If you owe Federal taxes, or think you might owe taxes, hang up and call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you with your payment questions.
*If you do not owe taxes, fill out the "IRS Impersonation scam" form on TIGTA's website, www.tigta.gov, or call TIGTA at 800-366-4484.
*You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.FTC.gov. Add "IRS Telephone Scam" to the comments in your complaint.

TIGTA encourages taxpayers to be alert to phone and e-mail scams that use the IRS name. The IRS will never request personal or financial information by e-mail, text, or any social media. You should forward scam e-mails to phishing at irs.gov. Do not open any attachments or click on any links in those e-mails.

Taxpayers should be aware that there are other unrelated scams (such as a lottery sweepstakes winner) and solicitations (such as debt relief) that fraudulently claim to be from the IRS.

Read the U.S. Attorney's Office Press Release.

Read more about tax scams on the official IRS website at www.irs.gov/

-----Original Message-----
From: Nfbmo [mailto:nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nancy Lynn via Nfbmo
Sent: Wednesday, February 17, 2016 2:41 PM
To: nfbmo list; NFBC List
Cc: Nancy Lynn
Subject: [Nfbmo] Don't fall for this scam!

I got this from another list and thought others should see it as well.
I want to urge all of you not to fall for a particularly vicious and despicable phone scam that seems to be going on now and that may be targeted toward the elderly. I have experienced this myself and, although i knew it was a scam, I still found it a little frightening and it made me very angry. You get a phone call informing you that you are being sued by the IRS and must take immediate action to avoid being arrested or having legal actions taken against you. This is a scam. Don't fall for it! The IRS would not make such calls. Information to taxpayers would be mailed and would not involve threats. I received three recorded phone calls on my iPhone. the message informed me that I was being sued by the IRS and that this was my final warning. i was further told to call a number at "our department" to get the details of the suit against me. Each time the number to call was different. I knew this was a scam so i ignored the calls and they stopped. but I hear from news reports that people are falling for this and sending money to stop the legal action. People are naturally scared when they get threatening calls supposed to be from the government so they fall for this trick. don't be a victim of this. I suspect that most of you are smart enough not to be tricked by these calls but please share this information with friends or family  members who you think might be vulnerable to this scam. I wasn't sure who to report the calls to so I did nothing but I wish now I had done some follow-up. This was also talked about on KMOX news this week. So ignore the calls if you get them and just hang up.
_______________________________________________
Nfbmo mailing list
Nfbmo at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmo_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Nfbmo:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmo_nfbnet.org/dangarcia3%40hotmail.com




More information about the NFBMO mailing list