US NEWS A Over 20,000 taxpayers victims of IRS phone scam

India Abroad April 4, 2014

US NEWS

A9

Over 20,000 taxpayers victims of IRS phone scam

GEORGE JOSEPH

IRS e-mails to support their scam; call a second

time claiming to be the police or department of

In the largest telephone scam ever, over 20,000 taxpayers have been targeted by fake Internal Revenue Service agents, the IRS revealed last

motor vehicles, and the caller ID again supports their claim.

The inspector general's office is working with

week.

major phone carriers to try to track the origins of

`If someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from

the calls.

the IRS and uses threatening language, that is a sign

The scam has been effective in part because the

that it really isn't the IRS calling,' J Russell George,

fake agents mask their caller ID, making it look like

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration,

the call is coming from the IRS.

said in a statement. `This is the largest scam of its

They request prepaid cards because they are

kind that we have ever seen."

harder to trace than bank cards.

He warned taxpayers against phone calls from

If you get a call from someone claiming to be with

individuals claiming to represent the Internal

the IRS asking for a payment, here's what to do:

Revenue Service to defraud them.

If you owe Federal taxes, or think you might owe

George said the agency is aware of thousands of

taxes, hang up and call the IRS at 800-829-1040.

victims who have collectively paid over $1 million.

If you don't owe taxes, call and report the inci-

`The increasing number of people receiving these

dent to TIGTA at 800-366-4484.

unsolicited calls from individuals who fraudulently claim to represent the IRS is alarming,' George

A victim of the scam explains her plight to a neighbor as Yonkers police officers look on.

You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at Add `IRS

added.

Telephone Scam' to the comments in your com-

`At all times, and particularly during the tax filing season, deportation or loss of a business or driver's license.

plaint.

we want to make sure that innocent taxpayers are alert to Important details to note from the inspector general's The IRS will never request personal or financial informa-

this scam so they are not harmed by these criminals. Do not statement:

tion by e-mail, texting or any social media. You should for-

become a victim.'

Q The IRS usually first contacts people by e-mail -- not ward scam e-mails to phishing@.

The inspector general's office started receiving com- by phone -- about unpaid taxes, the statement noted.

Don't open any attachments or click on any links in those

plaints about the scam in August last year. Immigrants Q The IRS won't ask for payment using a pre-paid debit e-mails.

were the primary targets. But the scam has since become card or wire transfer. It also won't ask for a credit card Taxpayers should be aware that there are other unrelated

widespread.

number over the phone.

scams (such as a lottery sweepstakes winner) and solicita-

The scam has hit taxpayers in nearly every state in the Q The callers who commit this fraud often: Use common tions (such as debt relief ) that fraudulently claim to be

country. Callers tell intended victims they owe taxes and names and fake IRS badge numbers; know the last four from the IRS.

must pay using a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer. The digits of the victim's Social Security Number; make caller Read more about tax scams on the IRS Web site scammers threaten those who refuse to pay with arrest, ID information appear as if the IRS is calling; send bogus

Despite awareness, fake calls continue

Mathai Das called the police who advised him not to reply to the call. They also advised to check his bank accounts to veri-

fy if any fraud had been committed.

The Parsippany, New Jersey, police last

GEORGE JOSEPH

to Mathew's house to take down the facts as ment followed and she hung up the phone." year warned the Indian community about

part of a routine exercise.

March 6, Saju Das, a medical resident in the ongoing scam and asked them to be vig-

Anju Bhargava, founder, Hindu American Sewa Communities, who is coordinating with IRS officials in

Koovalloor also met the police commissioner and complained, who sent the officers again and they made a detailed report.

New York City got a call from 509-5929455 demanding that he pay $3,000 as arrears to the IRS.

ilant. Police chief Paul Philips explained the modus operandi: `In May, a victim was led to believe that he was under investigation

spreading awareness about the scam, "The police promised to send the report They said they had sent 14 letters for the for violating federal and state tax laws, and

revealed she too received a call a few to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and money. If the money was not paid within he subsequently paid approximately

months ago.

other authorities. They also noted the large 48 hours, he and his father Mathai P Das in $4,000 to `settle out of court and avoid

"The first voice message I got was in scale scam going on. It is sad the authori- Rockland County, New York, would be arrest.'`He later learned he was the victim of

January. The next one was in February. ties cannot nab these criminals," he said.

arrested and would end up in jail for 18 a scam. Two similar incidents occurred in

And I came to know of many more. And so Monika Joshi, a former India Abroad months, he was told.

June 2013,' Philips said.

I contacted the New Jersey Homeland correspondent, who now lives in Texas,

Security office, " she said.

got her third call March 27.

Anjali Mathew from Yonkers, New York, "This is so spooky. I just got a call," she

got a call March 20.

said. "The guy had an Indian accent. He

The caller allegedly from the IRS, 'Officer Kevin John,' said Mathew needed to pay $170,000 in fines within 45 minutes or face

asked me to call back at 914-612-7258," she said. "When I started asking questions, he hung up."

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arrest. He said the IRS has identified four She got the first call in January. On charges against her, including tax fraud, February 21 she got another call. She then

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sending money secretly to India and hiding e-mailed India Abroad.

? More than 200 years of combined stable happy marriage

information about property in India. He "The scam India Abroad wrote about

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also offered her the opportunity to pay part (India Abroad, February 14) is still going

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of the fine immediately. If she did not, he on. I got a call again today, from a woman

said, she faced arrest, imprisonment for posing as an Officer Laura Wood of the

For more details, please, write us at info@

five years, and, finally, deportation.

Office of Federal Crime Investigation

Dr. Satish Shah, Dr. Sunder Mansukhani

Mathew frantically called her father, Department. She had an accent, probably Thomas Koovalloor, a community activist, Indian or Latin American, asked for my

Dr. Dhiraj Panda, Mr. Parimal Parikh, Mr. Vijay Pola

who was in New Jersey. He alerted her husband's cell number. She gave her num-

about the scam and reassured her that if she ber as 202-800-8443," Joshi wrote.

were arrested he would take care of things.

"I called the number. A lady, with a



Koovalloor called the Yonkers police and Spanish accent picked it up. She said it

they said there was no arrest warrant was the FBI office in DC. I asked her to against his daughter. They sent two officers give the phone to her supervisor. An argu-

Gentlemen are you ready to meet your future...!

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