Request to Sign 'We the People' petition: Stop Phone/Internet Scammers that claim they are IRS, etc.

[studmoose]

Hi Fellow DUers,


I keep getting phone calls from phishers who claim they represent the IRS.

Most recently, over the past two weeks, I've received a couple of call from people stating that they are from the IRS and are in the process of filing a legal suit, with punishment up to and including jail time. They want me to call certain, non-government phone numbers. One was even in Jamaica. They really have their game down, but IRS people do not disclose any information unless they have first confirmed with whom they are conversing with, and it is almost always following by some sort of written notice.

I'm sure this scares many people into giving away their confidential and personal information, perhaps even including banking information. There has to be some sort of restriction to this, but apparently there is little recourse for the average citizen to prevent these calls.


Please aid in supporting the following petition.

This requires 150 people to sign before it will display on the White House's website.


I do not have advanced social networking skills. I would greatly appreciate your crowdsourced assistance.

Regards.


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---- The following is the email response when creating the petition ---
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Dear friends,


I wanted to let you know about a new petition I created on We the People, a new feature on WhiteHouse.gov, and ask for your support. Will you add your name to mine? If this petition gets 100,000 signatures by February 12, 2015, the White House will review it and respond!


We the People allows anyone to create and sign petitions asking the Obama Administration to take action on a range of issues. If a petition gets enough support, the Obama Administration will issue an official response.


You can view and sign the petition here:

(On RIGHT, enter First & Last Name, Email. Do not enter ZIPCODE. Click red 'Sign Now' - only your initials appear)


http://wh.gov/i4gFH



Here's some more information about this petition:


Make it a Federal Crime for Telephone and Internet Phishers to claim they represent the IRS or any other federal agency.

On a frequent basis, Telephone and Internet Scammers contact Americans while pretending to be representatives of federal agencies. These people threaten people with lawsuits or jail time if they do not return their calls or provide confidential information to them, using the threat of a federal agency as leverage to instill fear and compliance. Some of these callers provide numbers that reside outside the Continental U.S., which could incur telephony charges.

There should be laws in place to prevent scammers from impersonating government agencies. Besides scaring people, and raising the consciousness of government power, these callers abuse the citizen's relationship with government.

Numerous websites denote these attempts and show the futility of citizens from stopping such abuse.

[NaturalHigh]

1. I recced your OP, and I'll sign the petition;

but isn't it already a crime to impersonate a federal official? The problem might be more a matter of actually enforcing the law more aggressively.

[studmoose]

5. Thanks for your support.

Hopefully, this will raise attention to this matter and highlight the difficulty in stopping this type of behavior.

[Nye Bevan]

2. You should report all such calls to the FCC

at https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us

A lot of these calls come from foreign countries and "spoof" the caller ID, so it is difficult for action to be taken against them, but every complaint helps the FCC realize the extent of the problem.

[studmoose]

4. Numerous sites profess futility. The FCC does not act to police or shut down sites.

Over the years, you can see the same block of phone numbers uses over and over for the same types of scams.

Go to 800notes.com and others. Just plug in phone numbers and see how people have been trying to stop these calls with no success. Their only option is to purchase devices that block all calls that do not have caller ID, but many of these callers spoof the Caller ID information.

[Nye Bevan]

6. The FCC does occasionally track these scammers down.

http://www.bbb.org/blog/2014/04/has-rachel-from-card-member-services-gone-away-at-last/

It's kind of like whack-a-mole, and it's not easy for them, but they are the official body responsible for this problem.

[brooklynite]

3. This makes as much sense as "stop people from robbing banks"

What they're doing is already illegal. You could say: increase enforcement of phone scammers, but I'll warn you that it's virtually impossible.

[Motown_Johnny]

7. Done, and it says I was first....

SIGNATURES NEEDED BY FEBRUARY 12, 2015 TO REACH GOAL OF 100,000
99,999

TOTAL SIGNATURES ON THIS PETITION1


I think that is a first for me. (both literally and figuratively)

[studmoose]

8. Thanks Number One!

Did you add your name and email, then click Sign Now? You don't need your zip code.

Only your first & last initial should display.