Federal and local authorities are warning residents about a sophisticated phone scam that has been reported in some Bay Area counties and across the nation.
The scammers, who claim to be with the Internal Revenue Service, warn their targets they will be arrested for tax evasion—unless they immediately send what they supposedly owe via a prepaid debit card or wire transfer
“This is the largest scam of its kind that we have ever seen,” said Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George in a press release, adding victims have collectively lost more than $1 million to the scam.
Typically, the fraudsters know the last four digits of the victim’s social security number and make it appear on the caller ID as if the IRS is calling, George said.
According to Gilroy Police Department Sgt. Pedro Espinoza, these types of scams have been reported in the Garlic Capital before.
“The scammers, who identified themselves as IRS representatives requested payment via GreenDot cards and gave the victim a window of time to pay them,” Espinoza said. “They also indicated they would have the victim arrested for tax evasion if they didn’t pay within that window of time.”
The fraudsters threaten those who refuse to pay immediately threaten deportation, arrest or loss of a business or driver’s license. But this isn’t IRS policy, George said, adding agents will never ask for credit card information over the phone or ask for payment using a prepaid card or wire transfer.
Those contacted by someone claiming to represent the IRS asking for immediate payment, who believe they do owe taxes, should hang up and call IRS at 800-829-1040. Those who don’t owe taxes can call and report the incident to the Inspector General Office at 800-366-4484.
