Thursday the Internal Revenue Service reported over 20,000 Americans were cheated out of a collective $1 million by fraudsters claiming to be from the IRS. The agency described the scam as America’s ‘largest-ever telephone tax scam’. The confidence scheme was fairly sophisticated, but it is a sad state of affairs when citizens are unable distinguish between scam artists and their own government.
The alleged conmen hacked their caller ID so they appeared to be dialing from a local IRS office, then convinced taxpayers that they were legit by reciting the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, according to a release from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. They’ve swindled taxpayers from nearly every state into sending them money using a prepaid card or wire transfer.“This is the largest scam of its kind that we have ever seen,” said J. Russell George, the inspector general. “If someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from the IRS and uses threatening language if you don’t pay immediately, that is a sign that it really isn’t the IRS calling.”The IRS doesn’t actually call people to demand unpaid tax money, at least not before sending out letters first. They also never ask for wire, credit card number or prepaid card transfers over the phone.
Why did people fall for this then? To put further pressure on their victims, the scammers allegedly phoned them again, changing the caller ID to show a police or motor vehicle office number, and threatening arrest, deportation or loss of a business or driver’s license.
Source: Marketwatch
Photo: Chuck Holton on Flickr
and he probably still didnt rob as much as the actual irs
THE IRS IS A BIG SCAM. CORRUPT
they were the actual IRS
Just dont file any more
WOW hard to beleive the NSA doesn’t have there # ??? They have everyones don’t they How is it they (NSA) be colleting all this info but cant stop anything or know anything One’s to wonder
SO WHAT DO THEY INTEND TO DO ABOUT IT. ONE CROOK IS THE SAME AS THE OTHER.
Democrats must have fallen for this because Republicans and the Tea Party are smart enough to know that it was unconstitutional.
My guess is it’s IRS agents and employees working in their spare time.
It’s not hard to trick the real dumb ass American’s and I bet that number is alot higher then just 20,000 just look how many fell for what Obama is trying to sell as Affordable Health Care,they are saying 5 million but I don’t really think they are all that dumb because only a few have paid for it so far that so not all of them count.
now you know why i always call after i recieve phone call like that and no i don’t ask whos calling me for a phone number for verification i go to the phone book and get it myself then call and verirfi