PSA - IRS phone call

[dbarker]

This is a PSA (Public Service Announcement)

I got a phone call from the "IRS - Internal Revenue Service" yesterday. They left a message on my answering machine and let me know that they were suing me and I needed to call them back immediately.

People - this is a SCAM. They want you to send them money. Do NOT send them anything. Do not give them any information. Hang up the phone immediately.

If you are not sure and want to double check this, call the IRS at 1-800-TAX-1040. The agent(s) that you talk to will give you their first and last name and their Agent ID. They can look you up and see if you owe anything.

Please tell all of your family and friends about this. Especially the ones that may not be quite so "tech savvy" and might fall for scams. We don't want anyone to become a victim of this.

And just a reminder.....never give out any personal information to anyone over the phone or internet that you did not initiate (you did not make the first phone call or contact).

 

[TAX GUY]

 

[cabanafrau]

LOL! They left us a message a few months ago. I had posted about it back then. Weird that they processed our tax refund despite this pending litigation and haven't so much as mailed us an official notice warning us of our impending doom.

This week I've been fortunate enough to have a concerned "Windows" customer service rep call and offer to help me out since my computer has been sending them messages because it's infected with malware and a collections agency repeatedly calling to try to collect on a debt of someone with the same name as myself. It's always something.

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

They pulled that scam in the Chicagoland area last year. The "tax police" were coming to arrest DH for fraud. We'll DH is still here and is upstairs working right now!

 

[mrsv98]

Oh yes, I am currently "under investigation" and expect to be arrested at anytime..

 

[gottaluvPluto]

We have gotten three of these phone calls. These people scam thousands of dollars out of people! I wanted to call the number and tell them I am a tax attorney, but I never did. Youtube has lots of videos on these calls. Some of them are funny!

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

I actually like getting these scammer calls. I just screw with them and see how long it takes to frustrate them to the point where they give up. I kept the Microsoft scammer on the phone for about 40 minutes...LOL As long as he's attempting to scam me, he's not preying on someone else...

 

[ez]

We got this call too. I was thinking of the woman who left the recorded message and like, how do you sleep at night?. A call like that would scare the dickens out of older people who arent as sharp as they used to be. Shocks me how blatant though. Isnt there call tracing and stuff to find who does this and stop them, or no recourse?

 

[Disney Ella]

I got that call a few months ago. They said they were filing lawsuit against me. Not "a" lawsuit, just "filing lawsuit against you."

 

[cabanafrau]

I actually like getting these scammer calls. I just screw with them and see how long it takes to drustrate them to the point where they give up. I kept the Microsoft scammer on the phone for about 40 minutes...LOL As long as he's attempting to scam me, he's not preying on someone else...

I didn't even get the Microsoft one -- I got someone from "Windows". I did tell him to tell me all about it, before I told him he was a scammer. DH told me I should have asked how that's possible and told him I don't own a computer.

 

[dbarker]

I've tried calling the number back like they asked, but it is always "busy".

Scammer get by with it b/c they keep changing their phone numbers (throw away phones?).

 

[lucky978]

I actually like getting these scammer calls. I just screw with them and see how long it takes to frustrate them to the point where they give up. I kept the Microsoft scammer on the phone for about 40 minutes...LOL As long as he's attempting to scam me, he's not preying on someone else...

Same here!

I didn't even get the Microsoft one -- I got someone from "Windows". I did tell him to tell me all about it, before I told him he was a scammer. DH told me I should have asked how that's possible and told him I don't own a computer.

I got the Windows call once. After I told them 10x I don't have a computer, laptop or ipad I said, "Oh yes I do have windows...are you referring to the kitchen window or the bedroom window". The caller actually laughed and then hung up.

 

[bcla]

IRS notices are always sent by mail.

 

[cabanafrau]

IRS notices are always sent by mail.

Perhaps they've started a new public outreach campaign to give the agency a warm, fuzzier image with a personal touch.

 

[diznymom]

Perhaps they've started a new public outreach campaign to give the agency a warm, fuzzier image with a personal touch.

Since when have you known "Customer Service" and the IRS to be used in the same paragraph, let alone the same sentence?
The IRS sends written notices....Always.

 

[MickeySP]

Until there are people not stupid enough to realize that Mr Washington with the Nigerian accent is not from IRS or giving you 14.2 million dollars this will keep going.

Heck I work in LE & they call us, but we just have some fun​

 

[cabanafrau]

Since when have you known "Customer Service" and the IRS to be used in the same paragraph, let alone the same sentence?
The IRS sends written notices....Always.

Maybe it would help if I had added directions to read the comment after first planting your tongue firmly in your cheek? If you read above you'll see I received the same phone call a few months ago, and noted I have yet to receive written notice of the impending litigation.

 

[tigercat]

I didn't get a warning (maybe they do it different for Canadians eh) what I did get was a notice that I had a refund coming and to contact them. The only thing was I hadn't filed my taxs yet so knew that it wasn't real. Also, after I had finished doing my taxs I had more refund coming than they had said. This was sent to me by e-mail not by phone.
tigercat

 

[pooh4evr]

We get them too- the first message freaked me out because we did have false returns filed in our name this year.

 

[Jaya]

Watch out for the very official looking (complete with government seals that really look like the real thing) email from "The Department of Justice" that tells you that child porn has been found on your computer BUT WAIT.....for $258 you can have this erased from your record and you won't have to face jail time. I've received that twice on two different email addresses.