topic Re: IRS Scam in Among Friends

IRS Scam

CalminHeart — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 11:45:49 GMT

It's tax time and scammers are taking advantage of it. People call and say they're with the IRS and they will be deported or jailed if they don't wire money to them (IRS) right away.

1. The IRS never calls.

2. Never wire money to someone who calls you.

3. Call the IRS (or whatever company) if you think they called you.

4. Talk to your parents, family about scams.

We process Western Union wires where I work. There are lots of other scams going on all the time. Never wire money to those who call. We have caught a number of scams and saved people money. Some include calls about;

orphanages and charities in other countries. Always go through a trusted US charity.
property taxes
telemarketing calls
People who send extra money for PayPal purchases and want the difference sent back. Then the sender contacts PayPal and has the entire original amount returned so the seller is out nearly double.
your kid is being held hostage, is in jail, etc.
Don't wire money if you don't personally know the person

Re: IRS Scam

Group 5 minus 1 — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 12:27:29 GMT

Actually the IRS once did call us. This was years ago. I was most unco-operative and would not talk to them. Called our accounant. He said after making a few calls found out it was a new idea(not a great one). It was discontinued.

Re: IRS Scam

Janey2 — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 13:18:21 GMT

The IRS, under special circumstances, will call a home.

Re: IRS Scam

Shanus — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 14:12:15 GMT

@CalminHeartwrote:
It's tax time and scammers are taking advantage of it. People call and say they're with the IRS and they will be deported or jailed if they don't wire money to them (IRS) right away.

1. The IRS never calls.
2. Never wire money to someone who calls you.
3. Call the IRS (or whatever company) if you think they called you.
4. Talk to your parents, family about scams.

We process Western Union wires where I work. There are lots of other scams going on all the time. Never wire money to those who call. We have caught a number of scams and saved people money. Some include calls about;

orphanages and charities in other countries. Always go through a trusted US charity.
property taxes
telemarketing calls
People who send extra money for PayPal purchases and want the difference sent back. Then the sender contacts PayPal and has the entire original amount returned so the seller is out nearly double.
your kid is being held hostage, is in jail, etc.
Don't wire money if you don't personally know the person

@CalminHeart Tax Accountant hubby totally agrees. If IRS calls...prank call. They make contact by mail if necessary since you usually need info, forms included in letter. He suggested calling IRS and reporting scam calls...of course this time of year, expect to be on hold for some time. ****He said hang up & do not give any info...not even talk. The scammers are recording conversation and want to record your voice saying Yes or No so they can insert it into other documents to snag you giving permission.

Re: IRS Scam

esmeesmerelda — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 14:37:29 GMT

Thanks for the excellent & timely reminders @CalminHeart!

Re: IRS Scam

Nataliesgramma — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 15:00:31 GMT

I am going to remind my elderly relatives about this because many of them are too trusting

Re: IRS Scam

chrystaltree — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 16:21:25 GMT

@Shanuswrote:
@CalminHeartwrote:
It's tax time and scammers are taking advantage of it. People call and say they're with the IRS and they will be deported or jailed if they don't wire money to them (IRS) right away.

1. The IRS never calls.
2. Never wire money to someone who calls you.
3. Call the IRS (or whatever company) if you think they called you.
4. Talk to your parents, family about scams.

We process Western Union wires where I work. There are lots of other scams going on all the time. Never wire money to those who call. We have caught a number of scams and saved people money. Some include calls about;

orphanages and charities in other countries. Always go through a trusted US charity.
property taxes
telemarketing calls
People who send extra money for PayPal purchases and want the difference sent back. Then the sender contacts PayPal and has the entire original amount returned so the seller is out nearly double.
your kid is being held hostage, is in jail, etc.
Don't wire money if you don't personally know the person

@CalminHeart Tax Accountant hubby totally agrees. If IRS calls...prank call. They make contact by mail if necessary since you usually need info, forms included in letter. He suggested calling IRS and reporting scam calls...of course this time of year, expect to be on hold for some time. ****He said hang up & do not give any info...not even talk. The scammers are recording conversation and want to record your voice saying Yes or No so they can insert it into other documents to snag you giving permission.

I have a better idea. If a caller claims to be from the IRS, hang up and block that number. Don't speak, don't ask any questions. Just hang up. You don't have to notify IRS, they know there are scams like this out there and there's nothing they can do about it. If you do have outstanding business with the IRS, you already KNOW that. They'll contact you in writing.

Re: IRS Scam

qualitygal — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 16:27:05 GMT

@Nataliesgrammawrote:
I am going to remind my elderly relatives about this because many of them are too trusting

Absolutely. Anytime I use to hear about scams, I would tell my folks. Mom answered the phone back then, and always tried to be so helpful. I had to warn her quite often.

Re: IRS Scam

Shanus — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 16:27:09 GMT

@chrystaltreewrote:
@Shanuswrote:
@CalminHeartwrote:
It's tax time and scammers are taking advantage of it. People call and say they're with the IRS and they will be deported or jailed if they don't wire money to them (IRS) right away.

1. The IRS never calls.
2. Never wire money to someone who calls you.
3. Call the IRS (or whatever company) if you think they called you.
4. Talk to your parents, family about scams.

We process Western Union wires where I work. There are lots of other scams going on all the time. Never wire money to those who call. We have caught a number of scams and saved people money. Some include calls about;

orphanages and charities in other countries. Always go through a trusted US charity.
property taxes
telemarketing calls
People who send extra money for PayPal purchases and want the difference sent back. Then the sender contacts PayPal and has the entire original amount returned so the seller is out nearly double.
your kid is being held hostage, is in jail, etc.
Don't wire money if you don't personally know the person

@CalminHeart Tax Accountant hubby totally agrees. If IRS calls...prank call. They make contact by mail if necessary since you usually need info, forms included in letter. He suggested calling IRS and reporting scam calls...of course this time of year, expect to be on hold for some time. ****He said hang up & do not give any info...not even talk. The scammers are recording conversation and want to record your voice saying Yes or No so they can insert it into other documents to snag you giving permission.

I have a better idea. If a caller claims to be from the IRS, hang up and block that number. Don't speak, don't ask any questions. Just hang up. You don't have to notify IRS, they know there are scams like this out there and there's nothing they can do about it. If you do have outstanding business with the IRS, you already KNOW that. They'll contact you in writing.

@chrystaltree DH has an IRS number to contact re: scams. They do want to be informed in case new ones are popping up.

Re: IRS Scam

Shanus — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 16:31:43 GMT

@Nataliesgrammawrote:
I am going to remind my elderly relatives about this because many of them are too trusting

@Nataliesgramma Mom’s (90 yrs. old) tv is on 24/7. I set it up to show who’s calling on top left hand corner of screen. I told her if she doesn’t recognizes the # or the name not to pick up the phone. She was worried about missing important calls, but explained if anyone really needs to speak to her, they’ll leave a message on answering machine & she can return call.

Re: IRS Scam

shopperqvc — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 16:39:02 GMT

The IRS has a web site set up for reporting these calls. I have used the site several times to report someone calling claiming to be from the IRS. I'm not sure they will allow the address to be put on here, but I'll give it a try. If the moderators check the site they will find it is a Government site. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml

Re: IRS Scam

chrystaltree — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 16:44:06 GMT

@Shanuswrote:
@chrystaltreewrote:
@Shanuswrote:
@CalminHeartwrote:
It's tax time and scammers are taking advantage of it. People call and say they're with the IRS and they will be deported or jailed if they don't wire money to them (IRS) right away.

1. The IRS never calls.
2. Never wire money to someone who calls you.
3. Call the IRS (or whatever company) if you think they called you.
4. Talk to your parents, family about scams.

We process Western Union wires where I work. There are lots of other scams going on all the time. Never wire money to those who call. We have caught a number of scams and saved people money. Some include calls about;

orphanages and charities in other countries. Always go through a trusted US charity.
property taxes
telemarketing calls
People who send extra money for PayPal purchases and want the difference sent back. Then the sender contacts PayPal and has the entire original amount returned so the seller is out nearly double.
your kid is being held hostage, is in jail, etc.
Don't wire money if you don't personally know the person

@CalminHeart Tax Accountant hubby totally agrees. If IRS calls...prank call. They make contact by mail if necessary since you usually need info, forms included in letter. He suggested calling IRS and reporting scam calls...of course this time of year, expect to be on hold for some time. ****He said hang up & do not give any info...not even talk. The scammers are recording conversation and want to record your voice saying Yes or No so they can insert it into other documents to snag you giving permission.

I have a better idea. If a caller claims to be from the IRS, hang up and block that number. Don't speak, don't ask any questions. Just hang up. You don't have to notify IRS, they know there are scams like this out there and there's nothing they can do about it. If you do have outstanding business with the IRS, you already KNOW that. They'll contact you in writing.

@chrystaltree DH has an IRS number to contact re: scams. They do want to be informed in case new ones are popping up.

Whatever. They can't do anything to stop the phishing calls because the scammers can't be identified. That's just the way it is. But if calling to report a suspicious call makes you feel better, by all means call.

Re: IRS Scam

WaJa61 — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 19:31:02 GMT

Thank you, @CalminHeart and @shopperqvc for the helpful, timely info. I will pass it along to those I know who most need it.

Re: IRS Scam

CalminHeart — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 12:03:47 GMT

@chrystaltree DH has an IRS number to contact re: scams. They do want to be informed in case new ones are popping up.

Whatever. They can't do anything to stop the phishing calls because the scammers can't be identified. That's just the way it is. But if calling to report a suspicious call makes you feel better, by all means call.

Actually, they can do something. Write down the phone number that called you and report it to the IRS and State Attorney General. They also have the capability to find the real phone number since scammers usually set up bogus caller IDs. There are all kinds of ways to shut down a phone number. Then block that number on your phone.

Re: IRS Scam

Sookie Says — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 20:49:18 GMT

Hello All! We had this dang problem every other day last yr, drove me nuts! My husband, BTW, what does DH mean, pls? Last yr our phone rang all the time, I told my hubby NOT to answer it, they had the nerve to leave msg's on our voicemail!!!! Why can't people just get real jobs & stopped trying to rob the people that have actually worked for a living!!

Re: IRS Scam

Sookie Says — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 20:51:13 GMT

P.S. Thank you @CalminHeart for the post & thank you Shanus for all the valuable information! You ALL are the best!!

Re: IRS Scam

SelahG — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 21:29:55 GMT

@Sookie Says -- DH stands for "dear husband" on these forums. I usually just type "hubby" or his name.

It's the in-law ones that can throw me:

DSIL -- is that dear sister-in-law or dear son-in-law? 😜

Quicker than typing it all out each time, though.

Wanting to thank the OP and all who contributed the useful info here! I will forward it along to my email contacts.

Re: IRS Scam

Sookie Says — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 03:41:26 GMT

@SelahGwrote:
@Sookie Says -- DH stands for "dear husband" on these forums. I usually just type "hubby" or his name.

It's the in-law ones that can throw me:

DSIL -- is that dear sister-in-law or dear son-in-law? 😜

Quicker than typing it all out each time, though.

Wanting to thank the OP and all who contributed the useful info here! I will forward it along to my email contacts.

@SelahG, Thank you so much for teaching me what DH means, I will prefer to use hubby/husband, I don't feel my marriage is as great as most of you lovely ladies, no pity needed, just stating a fact. Anyway, as far as the DSIL, I don't have a clue, sorry I can't be of help to you.

Re: IRS Scam

BalletBabe — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 23:39:53 GMT

To all, The scamming calls are really bad. I bought one of these call block things from QVC. I love it! It comes with 5,000 numbers already blocked. I can add 1,500 to that.

Another thing to try is go to google and type in the phone number if your not sure who it is. I have put several numbers in and up popped all the complaints.

I had Microsoft call me one night ( not really microsoft) They told me that my hubby's computer was sending them signals and about to crash. Hubby was not on the computer. They asked me how many computers I had, so as a joke I said 10 why? They wanted me to send them 350.00 for each computer, because they said as soon as I go online they will crash. I told the guy you may think I am stupid, but I am not. I said by the way my husband is dying and his computer isnt even on, so explain to me how it is sending you signals? I finally hung up on him letting him know that I was not as stupid as he was.

Re: IRS Scam

DiAnne — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 05:31:39 GMT

@CalminHeart

I had a call from Western Union a couple of years ago asking me if I was trying to wire money to India on my credit card. Very helpful.