Yesterday I received two calls (neither of which I answered) with a message that said it was “very important” that I call the “IRS hotline” to talk about an “urgent tax matter”. Whoa. What could it be?
I’m kidding. I know exactly what it was: a scam.
The callback number was 302-251-8071, which is somewhere in Delaware. These guys should at least get a 202 number, which would be Washington DC and a little more believable. From what I understand, the scam typically works by telling the victim that there’s a serious problem with their tax returns from some years past, and they owe the IRS tens of thousands of dollars. Apparently there’s occasionally a vague threat of legal action and jail time if they don’t pay immediately. Of course, few people have that kind of money, so the scammers explain that they can make a partial payment immediately via a bank transfer or by loading up pre-paid credit cards, and that’ll resolve the “urgent tax matter”. Anyone who believes it then gives them a bunch of money– often hundreds or even a few thousand dollars.
Just because I was in a mood, I called the number today. Sure enough, some guy with an Indian accent answered and the conversation went something like this:
Me: Hi, I received a message about an URGENT TAX MATTER and I wanted to get it resolved. What’s going on?
Him: Hello sir. Who am I speaking with? [Since he has no idea who’s calling back on this number]
Me: Who am I? Don’t you know who I am? You’re the IRS.
Him: Is this (undecipherable name that sounded like “Doom”)?
Me: Are you asking if I’m Mr. Doom?
Him: Yes.
Me: That’s a great name but it’s not me.
Him: Is your address (undecipherable street) in Boston, Massachusetts?
Me: Hmm, no, that’s not my address either. This is strange.
Him: Please ignore our message. Good bye. [He hung up quickly]
So I’m wondering if these guys are using public-record information (like the Boston phone book) and calling people at random. Then, with their name and address, they can sound official and scare the person into paying to avoid jail or whatever. But when I called the number, they had no context and couldn’t identify me, so they quickly dropped the call.
In any case, I’ve received plenty of letters from the IRS for my businesses and so forth, and I know the IRS only communicates by postal mail and would never call and expect me to call some random number in Delaware to resolve a tax matter. In addition, when you call the IRS, the person who answers will always give their name and some ID number… you’d think these scammers would at least act like that to be more realistic. Sheesh. Amateurs.
So if you have a few spare minutes and want to have some fun, call 302-251-8071 and pretend to be all worried about your URGENT TAX MATTER.