Police Arrest 70 in IRS Phone Scam
Scams are all-to-common in today’s technology-savvy world. Luckily officials are working hard to weed out these scams and recently made great stride in a three-year-long IRS scam that has provided many with an expensive lesson learned the hard way.
IRS Scam: Arrests Made
Posing as U.S. tax officials, workers in a Mumbai, India call center left voicemail messages with thousands of U.S. based phone numbers, alerting the individual that they had unpaid back taxes which should immediately be paid. Requesting the individual return the phone call, these scams scared people into forking out more than $150,000 each day in order to avoid what they thought would be stiff penalties, including potential time behind bars, in order to settle the cases. After a year-long investigation and an estimated $55 million scammed dollars, 70 arrests were made on October 6 by U.S. officials at this call center, and hundreds more questioned concerning their involvement and knowledge of the case.
Around 70% of the scammed dollars is with ringleaders in India, with the additional 30% distributed to those collaborating with the efforts in the U.S. Along with the scams involving money (sent to the scammers using various non-traceable methods such as Western Union,) some scams involved the request of gift cards from different companies in order to settle the amount that was said to be owed in back taxes.
With some 750 people still being questioned concerning the operation of fake call centers located within a specific Mumbai office building, it is expected that additional arrest suffice from the matter, one that was initially investigated after receiving tips indicating the call center operation. The 70 arrests made on Oct. 6 include those of ringleaders as well as people who provided equipment or who were involved with the set up of the fake call center. Extortion and impersonation are among the charges these people are facing.
After the arrests, police raided the call center office, seizing hard drives and hard disks, servers, and various pieces of additional electronic equipment. This seizure comes after the IRS reports receiving more than 900000 consumer complaints concerning scams since the year 2013.
Spotting an IRS Scam
According to officials with the IRS, no one from their office will ever call you demanding payment, nor will a specific payment method be required to cover any back due taxes that you might, in fact, owe. In addition, the IRS is never going to ask for a credit card or debit card information via telephone conversation. A few tips to help you easily identify an IRS scam call:
• Demand for instant payment
• Specific method of payment demanded
• Request credit card or debit card information by telephone
• Threaten you with arrest/ police involvement
Should you receive a call from someone claiming to work with the IRS, do not give them any personal information and report the scam by visiting the IRS website and clicking on ‘IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting.’ If you prefer, a call to 800-366-4484 can help you make the report. You can also phone the IRS at 800-829-1040 if you need information about taxes that you owe.