Fake IRS calls - anybody care?

[denismurf]

I've had a recent wave of phone calls purporting to be from IRS, warning me of court actions unless I call their number now.

I know I'm not supposed to respond to such calls, but should I report them to any law enforcement office?

[MichCPA]

Don't bother. They are probably a robocaller off shore. There is very little law enforcement can typically do.

[LadyGeek]

This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues (scams).

[Doom&Gloom]

Why bother? I got a few of these a few weeks ago. I didn't respond, and they quit calling--at least for now. I've got bigger things to worry about.

[ResearchMed]

I've had a recent wave of phone calls purporting to be from IRS, warning me of court actions unless I call their number now.

I know I'm not supposed to respond to such calls, but should I report them to any law enforcement office?

There has been a recent dramatic increase in these robocalls, with all sorts of "explanations".
One common one is something about health insurance.

We no longer answer any phone call with a number we don't recognize.
And that's not necessarily full protection, given the spoofing. The call can appear to be coming from one's *own* number.
Answering let's the scammers/system "know" it's a live number.

I can get 3 -5 repeat calls from the same number.
Doing a search on the number (Google it), and it often shows up as some sort of scam.

Just ignore them, and say NOTHING.
There were reports of a different scam where the robo caller asks straight off, "Can you hear me", and then sometimes the answer of "yes" is used to claim someone agreed to purchase something. (My guess is that's in the past now, given it is known, but maybe not.)

RM

[J295]

I don’t answer any calls. If they are not in my contact list and don’t leave a message, I block the missed call number.

[aqan]

I don’t answer any calls. If they are not in my contact list and don’t leave a message, I block the missed call number.

exactly what I do too. If you pickup once the call volume doubles next week.. so beware.

[bluelight]

I'm sick to my stomach. My daughter called me this afternoon in tears that she had been scammed. What I can gather is that she received one of these calls yesterday, caught the end of the message as she was coming into the house, answered the phone and fell for it to the tune of a $500 ebay gift card. I asked if she had contacted her CC company to alert them, she said had notified Citi but they won't do anything as the transaction hadn't posted yet. She also tried to contact ebay, but I couldn't find an email address to report it. I don't even know what they would do.

I really don't know any additional advise to give her and would appreciate any ideas.

[whodidntante]

I would personally enjoy wasting their time and causing them frustration.

[ResearchMed]

I'm sick to my stomach. My daughter called me this afternoon in tears that she had been scammed. What I can gather is that she received one of these calls yesterday, caught the end of the message as she was coming into the house, answered the phone and fell for it to the tune of a $500 ebay gift card. I asked if she had contacted her CC company to alert them, she said had notified Citi but they won't do anything as the transaction hadn't posted yet. She also tried to contact ebay, but I couldn't find an email address to report it. I don't even know what they would do.

I really don't know any additional advise to give her and would appreciate any ideas.

Have her call back again as soon as the charge posts, and ask for the Fraud Department.

RM

[bluelight]

I told her to do so, and will call her back first thing in the morning to remind her. I was a little surprised Citi would do nothing until it posted. I have a Barclaycard and noticed a fraudulent charge on my acct before it posted (I check my accts daily). They immediately took action. While I realize this is something she did on her own, I expected better of Citi.

[DippityDoo]

She also tried to contact ebay, but I couldn't find an email address to report it. I don't even know what they would do.

Years ago I ran into a thief on ebay and was surprised by their responsiveness. As I recall, ebay got back to me quickly and suspended the seller's account immediately after learning the details. If your daughter wants to warn ebay about the scam, she can probably do so via their online form at their security center.

I hope she didn't reveal her Social Security Number to the con artist on the phone! Best wishes for a satisfactory resolution.

[ResearchMed]

I told her to do so, and will call her back first thing in the morning to remind her. I was a little surprised Citi would do nothing until it posted. I have a Barclaycard and noticed a fraudulent charge on my acct before it posted (I check my accts daily). They immediately took action. While I realize this is something she did on her own, I expected better of Citi.

If you noticed it "on your account", then it DID "post".
"Posting" doesn't mean showing upon on a monthly statement; it means the charge has been processed and received by the charge card vendor and "shows" as activity.

What *can* be done sooner is to cancel the card number and get a replacement card sent out.
That can be done for a variety of reasons, and doesn't require that any fraudulent charge has already "posted".
It's easier for everyone if a fraudulent charge is prevented.

RM

[bluelight]

That was my first question to her. Thankfully, this appears to have been purely that she bought a $500 ebay gift card and gave them the code for the card. I didn't even know such things existed. I don't believe that they could get any credit card info from the purchase, and she said that she didn't give them any additional info.

Not an excuse, but she is 6 months pregnant and my son in law is furious about the whole thing. I am trying of figuring ways to help her while staying positive and upbeat.

[bluelight]

I told her to do so, and will call her back first thing in the morning to remind her. I was a little surprised Citi would do nothing until it posted. I have a Barclaycard and noticed a fraudulent charge on my acct before it posted (I check my accts daily). They immediately took action. While I realize this is something she did on her own, I expected better of Citi.

If you noticed it "on your account", then it DID "post".
"Posting" doesn't mean showing upon on a monthly statement; it means the charge has been processed and received by the charge card vendor and "shows" as activity.

What *can* be done sooner is to cancel the card number and get a replacement card sent out.
That can be done for a variety of reasons, and doesn't require that any fraudulent charge has already "posted".
It's easier for everyone if a fraudulent charge is prevented.

RM

I don't even know if she knows how to check her acct online. All she did was call Citi and told them about it. This is called "where did I go wrong with my child".

[muddgirl]

There are two departments you should report calls to, especially if you or a loved one has lost money from the scam. One is the Treasury Inspector General and the other is the FTC. I think it's important to report if possible to help the government track these guys down. There was a big internation robocall bust just last year.

[ResearchMed]

I told her to do so, and will call her back first thing in the morning to remind her. I was a little surprised Citi would do nothing until it posted. I have a Barclaycard and noticed a fraudulent charge on my acct before it posted (I check my accts daily). They immediately took action. While I realize this is something she did on her own, I expected better of Citi.

If you noticed it "on your account", then it DID "post".
"Posting" doesn't mean showing upon on a monthly statement; it means the charge has been processed and received by the charge card vendor and "shows" as activity.

What *can* be done sooner is to cancel the card number and get a replacement card sent out.
That can be done for a variety of reasons, and doesn't require that any fraudulent charge has already "posted".
It's easier for everyone if a fraudulent charge is prevented.

RM

I don't even know if she knows how to check her acct online. All she did was call Citi and told them about it. This is called "where did I go wrong with my child".

Did she cancel the card and request a replacement?

As I mentioned, that doesn't need to wait for anything to "post".
(It can be if the card is misplaced, for example, or if one worries someone has gotten the card information.)

RM

[bluelight]

There are two departments you should report calls to, especially if you or a loved one has lost money from the scam. One is the Treasury Inspector General and the other is the FTC. I think it's important to report if possible to help the government track these guys down. There was a big internation robocall bust just last year.

Thank you. I will talk to her about this.

[bluelight]

I told her to do so, and will call her back first thing in the morning to remind her. I was a little surprised Citi would do nothing until it posted. I have a Barclaycard and noticed a fraudulent charge on my acct before it posted (I check my accts daily). They immediately took action. While I realize this is something she did on her own, I expected better of Citi.

If you noticed it "on your account", then it DID "post".
"Posting" doesn't mean showing upon on a monthly statement; it means the charge has been processed and received by the charge card vendor and "shows" as activity.

What *can* be done sooner is to cancel the card number and get a replacement card sent out.
That can be done for a variety of reasons, and doesn't require that any fraudulent charge has already "posted".
It's easier for everyone if a fraudulent charge is prevented.

RM

I don't even know if she knows how to check her acct online. All she did was call Citi and told them about it. This is called "where did I go wrong with my child".

Did she cancel the card and request a replacement?

As I mentioned, that doesn't need to wait for anything to "post".
(It can be if the card is misplaced, for example, or if one worries someone has gotten the card information.)

RM

I don't think she has. I think I need to go to her house tomorrow when she calls Citi again.

[scrabbler1]

I go to the 800notes.com website to see if there are others who have complained about the number. With the neighbor spoofed numbers, I am usually the first one posting there. But many times, there are others posting about it, sometimes pages and pages of complaints going back a few years.

I have had more of those fake IRS calls or similar calls threatening legal trouble. If it comes on my landline, it is sometimes blocked by nomorobo. If NMR doesn't block it, I report the number to them, especially if it has shown up on 800notes.com. I never engage the caller, I don't want to waste my time dealing with them, whether it's a live person or a robodialer.

The cell phone calls I can't block but because I have given out my number to maybe 10 people, most of the calls are garbage calls. Because I am on a very limited, pay-per-minute plan, and I don't want to hear the phone ringing several annoying times after I see it is an unfamiliar number, I simply lift the lid of the phone an inch then close it. I don't want to have voice mails which are a nuisance to retrieve and delete (but thanks to a fellow Boglehead, I can use my land line to do that dirty work).

Ann from Health Care Hotline has been calling a lot in the last month or so, often calling from the same number a few times before switching to a new one, probably staying ahead of NMR or other call-blockers.

[ResearchMed]

I told her to do so, and will call her back first thing in the morning to remind her. I was a little surprised Citi would do nothing until it posted. I have a Barclaycard and noticed a fraudulent charge on my acct before it posted (I check my accts daily). They immediately took action. While I realize this is something she did on her own, I expected better of Citi.

If you noticed it "on your account", then it DID "post".
"Posting" doesn't mean showing upon on a monthly statement; it means the charge has been processed and received by the charge card vendor and "shows" as activity.

What *can* be done sooner is to cancel the card number and get a replacement card sent out.
That can be done for a variety of reasons, and doesn't require that any fraudulent charge has already "posted".
It's easier for everyone if a fraudulent charge is prevented.

RM

I don't even know if she knows how to check her acct online. All she did was call Citi and told them about it. This is called "where did I go wrong with my child".

Did she cancel the card and request a replacement?

As I mentioned, that doesn't need to wait for anything to "post".
(It can be if the card is misplaced, for example, or if one worries someone has gotten the card information.)

RM

I don't think she has. I think I need to go to her house tomorrow when she calls Citi again.

Just tell her to call Citi, tell them she thinks her card was compromised, and they should cancel that number and send her a new card.
One sentence.
Why do you need to drive to her house?
Let her be an adult...

RM

[bluelight]

Just tell her to call Citi, tell them she thinks her card was compromised, and they should cancel that number and send her a new card.
One sentence.
Why do you need to drive to her house?
Let her be an adult...

RM

Yeah, I know. Easier said than done.

[mighty72]

There are two departments you should report calls to, especially if you or a loved one has lost money from the scam. One is the Treasury Inspector General and the other is the FTC. I think it's important to report if possible to help the government track these guys down. There was a big internation robocall bust just last year.

+1
It is important to report. You might be one person; however if enough people report then there might be an action or at least some form on warning. Overseas scammers also get indicted.

[mouses]

I see Pending charges on my Capital One card on their website. A couple of fraudulent ones showed up in pending and CapOne took a report immediately.

I am curious as to the scam bluelight reports? What could they tell her daughter that would make her buy a gift card and give them the code?

I still get the can you hear me now calls. I guess this means someone has my credit card number...

[WaffleCone]

Thankfully, this appears to have been purely that she bought a $500 ebay gift card and gave them the code for the card. I didn't even know such things existed. I don't believe that they could get any credit card info from the purchase, and she said that she didn't give them any additional info.

This is not credit card fraud per-se. Your daughter made a legitimate purchase using her card and then was conned into giving the product (a code) away to someone else. This is different than someone else using her card. Perhaps citi will treat it the same way but strictly speaking I don’t think it’s covered under their fraud protection policy.

[Doom&Gloom]

I see Pending charges on my Capital One card on their website. A couple of fraudulent ones showed up in pending and CapOne took a report immediately.

I am curious as to the scam bluelight reports? What could they tell her daughter that would make her buy a gift card and give them the code?

I still get the can you hear me now calls. I guess this means someone has my credit card number...

The automated calls I got purported to be the IRS informing me that I owed them money and if I did not call the number they gave me that I would be arrested and taken into custody the next morning. I assume that if someone calls that number that they are instructed how to send them payment via CC or gift card.

[WaffleCone]

I am curious as to the scam bluelight reports? What could they tell her daughter that would make her buy a gift card and give them the code?

An PhD friend was duped by one claiming that he owed taxes due immediately. Went to the grocery store and bought MoneyPak cards. May have had a guilty conscience about his taxes too I suppose.

My parents are always getting calls from Microsoft saying they need a credit card to apply the latest antivirus updates to the computer.

I once got a call that my brother was arrested and I needed to post bail. They had his name right but it was otherwise fishy.

Tons and tons of scams.

[Momus]

No... don't care... I ain't stupid enough to fall for these scams. I can't believe a lot of people fall for this.

[andypanda]

"where the robo caller asks straight off, "Can you hear me""

Even when my friends call and ask if I can hear them, I always say NO. Now I have some of them doing it. Or maybe I'll give them the old, "At the tone, the time is 8:28 a.m. DING."

[mptfan]

I ain't stupid enough to fall for these scams. I can't believe a lot of people fall for this.

I can't believe it either. I know of a person who is a well educated professional who almost fell for such a scam. A scammer called him on his cell phone and they told him there was a federal warrant and he needed to leave the office right now and do not hang up and go to a local store and buy a gift card, and he started to leave before someone asked him what he was doing (while he was on the phone with the scammers because they told him not to hang up) and was quickly told it was a scam and he was able to stop what he was doing and get out of the mental zone he was in and he eventually hung up and figured out he was being scammed. He actually called the local U.S. Marshall's office and they told him it was a scam, and only then did he feel better and fully realize he was being scammed. I really can't figure out why otherwise intelligent and educated people fall for this kind of thing.

[munemaker]

I've had a recent wave of phone calls purporting to be from IRS, warning me of court actions unless I call their number now.

I know I'm not supposed to respond to such calls, but should I report them to any law enforcement office?

This is only one source of numerous junk calls I get. Why single them out? Does anyone fall for these stupid scam calls? The word has been out on this for years.

[bob60014]

"where the robo caller asks straight off, "Can you hear me""

Even when my friends call and ask if I can hear them, I always say NO. Now I have some of them doing it. Or maybe I'll give them the old, "At the tone, the time is 8:28 a.m. DING."

DONT SAY ANYTHING, JUST HANG UP!

https://www.bbb.org/en/us/article/news- ... st-hang-up

[KSOC]

I've been getting a new Microsoft scam lately. Not the one where MS Office is infected, but Microsoft license has expired & without payment I won't be able to do something, not sure as I always hang up.

[moehoward]

I finally got one of these calls yesterday and it was a computerized voice. The caller said to call another number which I didn't but would have loved for someone to get on and try to intimidate me about my taxes. I have been using an app called "UMAIL" for the last two months and my spam calls have gone done about 90%. (I'm not endorsing the app. I use it and like it so far)

[RudyS]

Our local police say just hang up on the calls. Only notify PD if you actuallky gave info or lost money.

[jebmke]

Our local police say just hang up on the calls. Only notify PD if you actuallky gave info or lost money.

We simply don't answer any calls that are not known callers -- and even some of them ....

[SGM]

I report all these phony IRS calls to the FTC with an explanation. I hope that they follow up, but it takes only a few minutes to report the calls on the internet site. A friend keeps the FTC phone number and calls in to report scams. My cell phone provider reports many calls as "scam alerts". I generally don't answer the phone when I don't recognize the number.

I did answer one phone call when I was expecting a nephew to visit his grandfather who was staying near my house. The caller's voice sounded like my nephew and I talked a little bit until the caller said he was in an accident the night before while drinking and needed money to get out of jail. My nephew is CFO of a large company and just bought a nice pleasure boat and a new lake-house. He recently received over a huge payout when his first employer was bought out. I laughed an hung up. No rich kid is going to ask an uncle to bail him out of jail. I am now even more careful about avoiding phone calls from unknown numbers.

[likegarden]

Reading all these stories, we do not answer phone calls with numbers and names we do not recognize. It's a pity they no longer leave messages with these threats for us because that was always entertaining.

[BogleMelon]

I would personally enjoy wasting their time and causing them frustration.

+1
I don't know why they dont call me. I want one of these calls please!

[student]

I would personally enjoy wasting their time and causing them frustration.

+1
I don't know why they dont call me. I want one of these calls please!

You may enjoy watching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge5J6_tuq_g

[Broken Man 1999]

I have received several IRS "scam" calls. Usually I let any unknown caller ids go directly to voicemail, but occasionally I answer. And, who hasn't received the call from "Microsoft Security" from a nice person wanting to help you keep your PC safe?

For the times I foolishly answer the phone, a quick "no thanks" response suffices.

I have ooma VoIP service, and to be able to use the "norobo" fix I would have to upgrade to ooma's Premier Service. It would cost me about $60-$70 extra per year, so these calls haven't irritated me enough to spend money on my phone service.

No big deal, all in all.

Broken Man 1999

[midareff]

LOL, they said the police would be coming out to arrest me as I broke out laughing.

[Rupert]

LOL, they said the police would be coming out to arrest me as I broke out laughing.

That is funny. Just fyi, everybody: The police do not call you to tell you they are coming to arrest you.

[gotester2000]

Why dont you just block the number - almost all cell phones have this feature. Lot of time I just hear the opening words from the other side and block the number without uttering a word. Dont use third party apps for caller identification - you will start receiving more spam.
Also I believe any govt agency will send you a written notice if there is any issue - and not through a call.

[user5027]

They almost always have a thick foreign accent.

My response is always, "Karma will get you."

They usually ask, "What did you say?"

I'll repeat, "Karma will get you."

The next thing I always hear is "CLICK."

I think they will tend to place me on the "don't waste our time list."

[Doom&Gloom]

I miss the calls from Rachel from Card Services. It must have been something I didn't say. She called so often that I think she was sweet on me.

[Rupert]

I miss the calls from Rachel from Card Services. It must have been something I didn't say. She called so often that I think she was sweet on me.

Rachel calls herself something else now, Courtney or Brittany or something like that. She was Leslie for a while.

[rotorhead]

We used to get lots of these calls too. About a year ago switched our landline to Comcast - actually VOIP. Comcast provide us Nomorerobo at no additional charge as part of the service; and since we enabled it, the calls have dramatically diminished. Usually one or two rings, and then call is blocked before the answering device is activated. Occasionally one gets through. When it does I log into my account, and add the number to their list. Helps a lot.

Of course, most of these scammers are continually changing numbers; so it's an ongoing battle. I rarely get one of these calls on my cell phone; but my wife does. So we subscribed to RoboKiller from Apple for her, for $2.99 per month; and it's been remarkably successful in stopping most of those calls.

One of my pet peeves is, I'm not convinced the FCC and the phone companies couldn't do more to combat this scourge if they really wanted to - part of the travails of modern living I guess. Computers have made it so easy, and so cheap, for these people to do this sort of thing. They only have to score once in awhile to make it worth the effort.

[jebmke]

LOL, they said the police would be coming out to arrest me as I broke out laughing.

That is funny. Just fyi, everybody: The police do not call you to tell you they are coming to arrest you.

No, normally emails.

[mptfan]

Does anyone fall for these stupid scam calls? The word has been out on this for years.

Yes, people still fall for these scams, or else they would stop.