SCAM Be careful | Imamother

cbg

Thu, Jun 29 2017, 1:08 pm

Yesterday I got a call from the
IRS
It was a recording stating that I've committed some type of fraud on my tax returns and if I didn't call immediately I would be arrested. or something like that
Of course because of what's happening I got worried.
I called, the person on the phone answered, Internal Revenue Service, Sargent so and so.
I asked is this a scam.
The man started to sing to me on the phone.
Just to let everyone know to be careful.

SpottedBanana

Thu, Jun 29 2017, 1:14 pm

From irs.gov:

The IRS reminds people that they can know pretty easily when a supposed IRS caller is a fake. Here are five things the scammers often do but the IRS will not do. Any one of these five things is a tell-tale sign of a scam. The IRS will never:
Call to demand immediate payment, nor will we call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill..

Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.

Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.

Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

WhatFor

Thu, Jun 29 2017, 1:21 pm

There will no doubt be scammers trying to really advantage of the situation. The IRS has a great webpage on how to know if it's really them:

https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsro.....-door

Specifically, it says it initiates most contact through mail and rarely calls, but if it does, you likely would have usually received notices in the mail.

Also, it never demands a specific type of payment over the phone; never demands you pay taxes without you having the opportunity to question or appeal it; never threatens to bring you into local police or other law enforcement to have you arrested for not paying.

If they start escalating and making threats, it's likely to be a scam. Also beware if they give you some identifying information but request more (to get your social, for example). Simply ask for a name and number to call back- a legitimate government official should always be able to provide that. Then Google the number to see if it's legit. But remember, it's very unlikely that it's actually the IRS.

Read more on their website.

shoshanim999

Thu, Jun 29 2017, 1:40 pm

I'm amazed that anyone falls for it. These are incredibly low level scams. I mean the irs calls you up and says you owe $5438.77 in back taxes from 2008. If you ask them ANY questions about it, they can't answer. My husband likes to tell them that he's only 21 years old so back in 2008 he was 12 and in 7th grade and didn't file taxes. This doesn't discourage them at all. They stick to The script and demand money. The hilarious part is that in order to pay this fee to the irs you need to go to Wal-Mart and western union money to Indonesia to some guy named Abda Rabda. Sure, sounds legit.

zaq

Thu, Jun 29 2017, 2:03 pm

Obviously enough people fall for it to make the effort worthwhile. The saddest part is that the victims are often aged people whose minds are getting a bit fuzzy, and figure "if they say I owe I must owe, even though I think I paid. My mind is not what it used to be."
For that matter, legitimate charities also use this underhanded method to get donations. They send letters or make calls in which they claim that you pledged $X, or last year you gave $X, can they count on you for $X+Y this year? You don't recall pledging, but maybe your dh did. Or maybe you pledged and forgot. At any rate, if you pledged, you pledged, and you ante up.
I know about these less than honest --oh, ok, let's call a scam a scam even if it comes from a real tzedakah--because beshittah I do not pledge. And beshittah I don't give to certain entities. So when they send me a letter claiming I pledged or call me asking me to match last year's donation, I know it's bogus. How shameful for a respectable organization to stoop to such tactics.

MagentaYenta

Thu, Jun 29 2017, 2:07 pm

What ever happened to using your yiddishe kop? This particular scam has been in the news for well over a year, it's been featured in our local PD newsletter, the Senior Center newsletter, my credit unions web page and a glut of news papers (national and local).

I like the one where they call you and say, 'You've recently stayed at one of our resorts'. Seriously? This is just another reason why I do not answer the phone unless I know who it is.

susan11230

Thu, Jun 29 2017, 2:12 pm

lol got the same call a while ago from a IRS officer he knew my name and told me that I owe money to the IRS and that I should call a certain number, And if I won't do it they will come and arrest me , I was a little scared but I knew that I don't owe my irs anything so I called my accountand who told me its a scam and that the irs will never call anyone personally .So I decided to scam the guy back , I called the number back and pretended to agree with the guy on the other side of the phone who told me he is a officer from the irs and that I should send him like $5000 immediately through some cash place and if not they will come to arrest me. After listening to him I told him that he is on a recorded line and this call is going to go to the FBI and that I will put it all over you tube with a warning about you scammers , of course he started cursing me out and saying that the police is on the way to my house wich I told him great beacuse the fbi is after you. and he hung up
Also be careful aout calls made from somebody with a Pakistani Accnt telling you your computer needs repair and he will try to convince you to go on your computer.
In fact any calls that are made to you and the caller has a heavy accent and sounds far be carful they are all scams

debsey

Thu, Jun 29 2017, 2:13 pm

rainbow wrote:

Next time I am asked to pay an illegit bill over the phone, I will say, "Yessir! My card number is 1234 5678 9012 3456"

I fantasize about doing that, but channeling my grandmother's really thick Polish accent, so the guy gets super frustrated.........

FranticFrummie

Thu, Jun 29 2017, 3:34 pm

My favorite call was the guy who was trying to sell me aluminum siding insulation. I let him give me the whole script, and agreed with him that I definitely needed this.

Then I told him "Bring a really long ladder, because I'm on the 10th floor of an apartment building. I'm sure the landlord would be happy to pay for this wonderful service." LOL

cbg

Thu, Jun 29 2017, 3:54 pm

Readers Digest had an article of a comedian scamming the scammers.
It went something like this
When the scammers called and asked for Joe Smith.
The comedian asked who it was since he's from the FBI and the scammer needs to come down to the FBI office because they are now a suspect in the murder of Joe Smith
LOL
Always wanted to do this.

Chayalle

Thu, Jun 29 2017, 4:03 pm

zaq wrote:

I know about these less than honest --oh, ok, let's call a scam a scam even if it comes from a real tzedakah--because beshittah I do not pledge. And beshittah I don't give to certain entities. So when they send me a letter claiming I pledged or call me asking me to match last year's donation, I know it's bogus. How shameful for a respectable organization to stoop to such tactics.

I've been twice called by different tzedakah organizations who asked me to donate $$ in honor of my new baby. When I told them I hadn't in fact given birth, the guy asked me if I'm sure Twisted Evil

. You think I would notice?

I've had a few times where I was told that I had pledged XYZ, when I hadn't. Or that last year I gave XYZ, when in fact I hadn't given XYZ the previous year. And a place that I pledged ABC added a zero to the ABC when they sent me a letter to redeem my pledge.

The IRS calls me all the time (not!). I also have untold viruses being generated by my computer, that I have to pay X dollars to remove. I just hang up and move on with my life....