In the last few years, thousands of Americans have been duped out of tens of millions of dollars by a group of scammers who claim to be with the IRS. They will call up individuals and pressure them into making “payments,” in cash, that will settle the debt but, of course, only if the victim speaks of the problem to no one. During the process the scammers are generally forceful but helpful which is how they convince people that payment must be made at a Walmart and made out to a man in Boston. Generally, that is the end of the scam despite the desperate phone calls from the victims seeking verification and receipts. But, sometimes, the scammers take the time to taunt their victims for little reason other than gloating. Authorities have been investigating this scam but have faced roadblocks due to the use of proxies that hide the true location of the callers. Ultimately the best way to stay safe is to stay wary and hang up before personally calling the IRS to confirm any delinquencies.
See Aarti Shahani, A Real-Life Tax Scam: This Is What IRS Phone Fraud Sounds Like, NPR, April 11, 2016.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
