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Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,087
Registered: ‎03-10-2016

I think their intended target is someone who will actually pick up the phone and engage in a conversation with them. 

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,752
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

FYI:

 

From The National Council On Aging (Includes Phone Scams)

 

Top 10 Financial Scams Targeting Seniors

 

Financial scams targeting seniors have become so prevalent that they’re now considered “the crime of the 21st century.” Why? Because seniors are thought to have a significant amount of money sitting in their accounts.

 

https://www.ncoa.org/economic-security/money-management/scams-security/top-10-scams-targeting-senior...

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,187
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

This was my first thought also - I'm guessing there are a lot more than these 5 scammers. I've had three or four different callers over the years - most were from middle eastern sounding males that I could barely understand and one from what sounded like a female computer generated voice.  I knew the IRS always (or used to always) send CP Notices and the one thing I DO know is that everyone at least has always had the the ability to challenge their numbers.  I've read that the IRS has begun calling ppl - but even on their website it says they NEVER ask for account numbers OR any personal numbers over the phone.  On the website it says that if you get such a call, take down the info and hang up and call the 1-800 number on their website.  They'll be able to verify if they have found an error, you have the ability to dispute it and even if you are wrong how you can fix it. 

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,752
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Michael Raanan, former IRS agent and president of Landmark Tax Group in California, says the IRS telephone scam is one of the most pervasive scams targeting seniors.

 

Scammers are identifying targets and preying on them when they're vulnerable.
 

He says senior citizens are receiving phone calls from scammers who purport to be IRS agents. They claim to be calling about unpaid back taxes and proceed to threaten the senior citizen with arrest, lawsuits, suspension of their driver's license and more.

 

"This is the biggest phone scam the IRS has ever seen and has already netted over $5 million after hitting all 50 states and now Canada," Raanan says.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,817
Registered: ‎03-14-2010

They didn't arrest all the scammers because I got another call this morning.  Those people are like a colony of mosquitoes.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,443
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

I've gotten those calls and while I knew they were scams, they are a little unsettling.  I never answered the phone but they left a message.  Someone said they were from the Dept. of Justice and that I just needed to call them back at  the number they left ASAP.  I never called the number and about a week later they called again and this time told me that it was the last time that they were going to call and that I better get a lawyer before I called them back.  I never called them back and never heard from them again.  Then I got calls from the IRS and again, I didn't return the calls and when they called back, they said that they were sending a sheriff out to arrest me.  Never called them back and never heard from them.  They will say anything to frighten people and sometimes it works.  They somehow got my friend's son cell phone number and he's 27 and very bright, savy guy and though he didn't give them any money, he said it was very scary to get a call like that.

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,482
Registered: ‎04-17-2010

@Nataliesgramma wrote:

I am glad they got the scammers....Even though I KNEW the call was a scam...it was unnerving......


They are unnerving.  The first time I received one the caller addressed me by name.  He said I owed money.  Initially it did not dawn on me, we file a joint return so it would not be just me owing money. When I hung up, he called back tying up my phone line. Last year I received another call, but this was a generic recording with a kinder female voice.

 

Our local news has done stories about these scams.  As another poster said they are looking for someone to answer the phone.  Seniors tend to pick up as opposed to screen their calls.  Both my daughter and daughter-in-law have received calls.  Messages were left on voice mail to return the call before a sheriff came to their homes to arrest them.

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,522
Registered: ‎09-01-2010

My mother is 82, with an aging brain affected by poor circulation from 70+ years of smoking.  Her assessment and reasoning skills are very different than they used to be.   The good thing is that Mom has gotten so fed up with political calls and calls for donations, she no longer answers any calls from numbers she doesn't recognize.   

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,462
Registered: ‎07-20-2014

I've received these voice mails twice, the last one yesterday, assuring me I would be arrested if I didn't return his call.

 

Do they let you pack a bag to go to IRS jail?  I ask because I just ordered the LUG TSV and hope it arrives before the IRS po-leece do, as I am anxious to use it and have no travel plans in the near future.

 

These con artists never give their name and don't say who the offender is. In one call he managed to threaten me with the grand jury, which had indicted me, a Federal magistrate, Federal prosecution, and imminent arrest.  But never named me.  They are hoping the victim is so upset they won't notice this lack of detail.  One caller actually said let ME, help YOU.  Yeah, right, help yourself to my money. 

 

 

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 33,580
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

@Noel7 wrote:

Michael Raanan, former IRS agent and president of Landmark Tax Group in California, says the IRS telephone scam is one of the most pervasive scams targeting seniors.

 

Scammers are identifying targets and preying on them when they're vulnerable.
 

He says senior citizens are receiving phone calls from scammers who purport to be IRS agents. They claim to be calling about unpaid back taxes and proceed to threaten the senior citizen with arrest, lawsuits, suspension of their driver's license and more.

 

"This is the biggest phone scam the IRS has ever seen and has already netted over $5 million after hitting all 50 states and now Canada," Raanan says.


Well he's a little behind because the article above says they bilked people out of $36.5m dollars.

 

They are calling everyone and anyone and hoping they get a hit.