First Posted: 12/22/2014
ROCKINGHAM — Phony IRS agents who dialed Larry Clay’s number picked the wrong senior to scam.
A retired certified public accountant, Clay knew immediately when he heard a voicemail message from the fraudsters that they did not represent the Internal Revenue Service.
“I know from almost 40 years of experience with the IRS that they don’t call you,” Clay said. “If you owe back taxes, you get three letters and then you get a certified letter. I know this is a scam.”
An automated message left on his voicemail at 11:26 a.m. last Friday claimed to be “officially a final notice from IRS” and threatened that the government agency would file a lawsuit against Clay unless he called 202-738-1947 to make payment arrangements.
That phone number has been flagged numerous times on scam alert websites, with several users reporting fake calls from the IRS.
Clay planned to report the scam to Rockingham police on Monday. He said a person in his Sunday school class at First Methodist Church has received a call from the same scammers.
“I dealt with the IRS for probably more than 35 years, and I know how they operate,” Clay said. “Probably the best thing to do if you get this call is to just hang up.”
Clay retired four years ago from the Dixon Odom CPA firm, having worked in Moore County for seven years after the Rockingham office closed.
The IRS phone scam has been reported throughout North Carolina, according to Attorney General Roy Cooper, who held a Charlotte press conference with the district U.S. attorney, U.S. Treasury inspector general’s office and Better Business Bureau two weeks ago to warn consumers.
The scam starts with a phone call from someone who claims to be with the Internal Revenue Service or U.S. Treasury Department, demanding payment for unpaid taxes and threatening arrest if the consumer doesn’t pay immediately.
Would-be victims told authorities that the callers instruct them to purchase a reloadable debit card, load it with cash and call back to provide the card number.
In some cases, the scammers will call back posing as local law enforcement officers prepared to arrest the caller if the phony tax bill isn’t paid.
That tactic was reported last month in Rockingham, when police say a local business owner targeted in the IRS scam received a follow-up phone call from a fraudster who displayed the Rockingham Police Department’s name and number on the recipient’s caller ID.
Con artists are often able to mimic the phone numbers and agency names that appear on caller ID in order to appear legitimate. Spoofing scams have been circulating in North Carolina since at least 2010.
“It is highly important to understand that no police department, sheriff’s department or other law enforcement agency will ever call you and ask for any type of payment over the phone,” Lt. Donavan Young of the Rockingham Police Department said in a Nov. 19 statement.
Cooper’s office said 1,043 consumers have reported IRS scam calls to the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division this year. Victims have lost a combined total of $98,703 to the scam.
“Scammers posing as tax collectors are using fear and deception to swindle thousands of dollars from North Carolinians,” Cooper said in a statement. “If you get a call saying you could be arrested if you don’t pay taxes right away, don’t fall for it. Hang up the phone and report the call to us.”
Suspected scams can be reported to the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-877-5-NO-SCAM. Fraudulent IRS calls can be reported to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484 or at www.tigta.gov.
Reach Editor Corey Friedman at 910-817-2670 and follow him on Twitter @RCDailyJournal.