According to accountants and authorities, scammers are continuing to step up their game when it comes to convincing you to hand over your money. “They usually have some kind of an urgent request that they’re going to take their bank accounts or they’re going to put him in jail or lose their passport,” said Reg Baker, a CPA.
In one case, it was money, or possible jail time.
That’s what it came down to in a recent phone call received by someone who says they were able to record the conversation between themselves and the scammers.
This is how it went down.
The scammer said she was from the IRS and knew the potential victims full name.
The scammer also gave an employee ID number, and at one point even said she was transferring the call to another department.
When asked if there would be any need for personal information to be exchanged, the scammer said no.
The con artist told her potential victim that he owed $5,000 in back taxes.
If that wasn’t paid, he would be arrested.
Reg Baker says he’s seen this before, “They are very sophisticated, a lot of people are being tricked into thinking this is a real IRS agent collection officer. Can you think of a better way to push someone to make a snap decision?”
The IRS says it would never demand payment over the phone and would never threaten to bring in local law enforcement.
Also, the IRS would never ask you to pay with a prepaid debit card or money order.
For more information, log onto https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts.