If you get a call from the IRS, just HANG UP!

[question everything]

A story on CBS This Morning

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dangerous-irs-phone-scam-unfolding-on-your-phone/

Basically, the IRS does not call and does not send emails. The IRS sends letters with reference to which one should refer when contacting back.

The caller ID has the 202 area code - for D.C. but it comes from overseas.

Hang up! You will be called again, hang up!

And, of course, when the "IRS" leaves a message, do not call back!

[Man from Pickens]

1. Seen this one

My question is how can a national security state that snoops on everything not be able to put an immediate stop to someone pretending to be the IRS and calling thousands maybe even millions of people?

[johnnyreb]

3. Because having the worst criminal scum terrorizing our elders every day is not a priority.

[Downwinder]

8. You are assuming that it is not perpetrated by the National Security State.

[DebJ]

23. The same way that haven't been able to stop people from stealing tax refunds?

Huge problem.

[Still Sensible]

2. Absolutely

the scammers keep getting more nimble and some poor fools will get fleeced.

[KinMd]

4. I got one of these calls on my voicemail

,....I wished I answered it and the guy threaten to arrest me..My call had a Brookyn area code..I live in Maryland

[Bryce Butler]

5. ...

[BlueJazz]

6. How do you do? My name is Franciso Van Thundergrass. I need your help.

I am trying to get my $432,485,746.00 into the United States. I need you to.....

[Ron Obvious]

7. I've been getting these every night for the past week.

I googled the phone number so I read all about this already. They don't leave a message.

We probably get 20 calls or more on our landline every day, of which we may answer 1. The rest is all crap.

[Nye Bevan]

9. Especially when they want you to go to the drugstore RIGHT NOW to get a prepaid debit card

to pay your back taxes, and demand this in a thick Indian accent.

[LiberalFighter]

10. The IRS does not have the funding to make calls like that.

[Binkie The Clown]

11. I got that call this morning.

I just hung up immediately, of course.

I've also been getting a robo call from a "collection agency" claiming they are collecting a gasoline credit card debt. I have never had the particular card they claim I own money on.

A good rule of thumb is don't believe anything any stranger tell you over the phone. Or in email.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. yes. irs doesnt call.

[hunter]

13. Them and the Microsoft guys. But I shouldn't play with them?

[question everything]

14. You mean, the one who wants to fix the "windows?"

First time I told him I was using a Mac.

Next times we just hang up.

[hunter]

19. I tell them my windows are dirty.

And that's true too.

With my wretched worn out knees it's not safe for me to wash our second floor windows by myself.

I require someone down below who can call 911 if I fall off the ladder.

My personal computers run stripped down versions of Debian.

These callers rarely know what I'm talking about, and they usually hang up first.

[niyad]

22. I have a friend who got scammed by the "microsoft" techs--it took months to get things

straightened out for her after I told her who to call and how to deal with it.

[Generic Brad]

15. Scammers never rest

Great advice, Question Everything!

[Grammy23]

16. We got that call several weeks ago..

Our policy is to never answer calls from numbers we do not recognize or says Private Caller or Unknown Caller. So when we got the call from a number we didn't know, the answer machine picked up. Much to our surprise the caller left a message. Said it was Internal Revenue Services calling because we owed money and needed to call back ASAP. The caller had a slightly menacing tone and suggested we were in serious trouble if we did not call back immediately.

Due to reading about scams, this had all the earmarks of a scam. I checked online at several Who Calls Me sites and there were many callers who said the same thing. When they called back they were told they owed a specific amount of money. When they told the "IRS" person they did not have that much money, they immediately offered to lower the price. Many people played along just to screw with the scammers. Often they were told that the police were on their way to arrest the person if they said they did not have the money. I can only imagine an elderly person being frightened by this tactic and sending money to these thieves.

There ought to be a way to stop these people but because most are out of the US, it is harder to find and stop their fraudulent activity

The simple solution is to not answer calls from unknown callers. Legitimate callers will leave a message so you can call back. The IRS does not do business by calling you directly to tell you that you owe money.

[cwydro]

17. Yeah this made the paper here...

lots of peeps got scammed.

The stupidity of people never fails to amaze me.

[question everything]

18. They are not stupid. Many believe that a call from the "government"

is a legitimate call. Especially for elderly.

They may catch one at a busy time and the frightened person just want to get the "government" off his back.

Some years ago there were the stories about the winning lottery from Nigeria. I was saddened to hear about someone, a professor, I think who sent almost a million dollars!

[cwydro]

20. I will change "stupid" to gullible.

The government one is especially horrible. But most of these work because of greed.

Believe me I know of these scams because of my job.

Many of these scams function because people actually believe they've "won" millions of dollars. Or "inherited" money. All they have to do is send whatever thousands to get that money sent to them.

Gullible, ignorant, stupid, greedy. Pick your adjective.

As P.T.Barnum said so many years ago, "There's a sucker born every minute.."

[lesliefaust]

24. Be wary of calls saying you're getting refund!

I feel like I should share the scam call I got from a 585 phone number yesterday. The caller claimed I was getting a tax refund and needed my bank info so they could deposit the money on the account. He even said I should give the info right away or it would be forfeited. Lol! Obviously, the call was a bluff. I've been hearing about this phone scam from the news and I'd never fall for one like it. I hung up and reported the call to the police.