Hey, there! Log in / Register
Police caution that robots rarely file lawsuits
By adamg on Tue, 11/25/2014 - 10:31am
Bedford Police are warning of a scam in which residents get calls from a robot voice warning them they've been sued and owe money and better call the number in the message immediately to buy pre-paid debit cards for the caller's owner or else their cases will be turned over right away to the "county courthouse."
Residents are reminded that a legitimate law firm will never use this kind of tactic. Also, the IRS will always send taxpayers several written notifications of any taxes due, via the U.S. Postal Service. The IRS never asks for credit card, debit card or prepaid card information over the telephone. For more information on IRS Scams, go to www.irs.gov and type “scam” in the search box.
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Collection Issues
This issue is getting worse and worse. Its not just THIS one incident, but many. Friends in NH have been bombarded with calls like this.
Let me clear some air for folks, as I've had some credit and IRS issues in the past.
1. The IRS will NEVER. EVER call you about anything. It's always sent US Mail, and typically certified mail. I've been involved in a few tax disputes, and other than ME calling the IRS, I've never talked to anyone over the phone there
2. The IRS gives you MONTHS to reply.. MONTHS. This will account for forwards from US Mail
3. It takes well over a year (or more) to be taken to court, and that is after every possible contact method has been exhausted to reach and work with you. And you will be well notified months in advance of any garnish or court proceedings (which btw will be served by a court official or a constable)
4. And unless you've falling off the radar for years, and have not filed a tax return or had a job (with a W2) in several years, the IRS will find you via US Mail. Always.
5. And if you do receive a call about a IRS debt that you are unaware of. Call them. As much as people poopoo the IRS, they are some of the nicest people to talk to over the phone and will help you sort out your problems. (because hey, why be nasty to callers, its the IRS, they are going to get their money regardless). And make sure you file a fraud report with them. Its not that they can do anything, but its good for tracking so they can monitor trends and work with the FBI and local police.
As far as bill collectors
1. It is ILLEGAL to ask for prepaid anything (check, cards, etc etc) in Massachusetts.
2. You have a RIGHT (according to MA general laws) to ask for written proof of the statement. If they refuse, hang up. It's the law
3. There's a whole multitude of other things, far too much to type, but most can be found here:
http://www.mass.gov/ago/consumer-resources/consumer-information/credit-a...
The state is on your side when it comes to fair credit reporting and collection. Trust me. Its worked for me in the past.
And finally...
If you receive a call that sounds too scammy to be true (even if its remotely questionable) call your local police department. Again its not that they can do much, but the police reports help track trends for these types of calls. If you don't call, they don't know.
So when is our current or
So when is our current or future AG going to make an example of these cretins? MA residents are bombarded enough from flagrant violations of the Do Not Call List as it is.
Jurisdiction problem
Our current or future AG doesn't have jurisdiction in Nigeria, or Russia, or wherever it is that these calls are coming from.
yup
and thanks to IP telephony, you can be in Russia and have your number appear to the caller that you're from a 781 area code!
British Virgin Islands
I got one of these calls yesterday on my answering machine, the jist of which is that the IRS wanted to sue me. Came up on my screen as originating from "British Virgin Islands". As always, I googled a few keywords from the message and found a number of complaints. Apparently they're using a lot of different phone numbers.
Tremendous post, cybah!
.
this has happened
This has happened more often than once to friends. I just speak from experience to know what really will happen. These criminals pray on people who don't know the proper process to pay up, and many do thinking its legit.
We've received a few of those
We've received a few of those IRS calls this year. The first time the caller ID said "IRS" with a 202 number, so I picked up the phone. The man on the phone had such a strong accent that I could barely understand what he was saying, and yet he gave his name as Peter Miller, (or some other very Anglo sounding name,) so I was already smelling a rat. Man asked for my husband by name. I said he wasn't home, so the guy asked for my husband's cellphone number. I said, "Well the number we gave on our return WAS his cellphone, so if you're the IRS, you should have it." Hung up.
We've gotten a few calls since then, which we've picked up only to screw with the guy on the other end of the call. Our latest one was a robo-call.
I could see how someone who didn't understand how caller IDs could be faked could easily fall for something like this. OTOH, I think that many elderly people might not even understand what the caller is saying and hang up anyway.
Believe it or not
I happened to receive one of these "IRS" scam phone calls around the same exact time that Adam posted this article.
It was laughably obvious.
Always demand proof in writing
If it is legit, they have to give that to you.
Robots can't give you that, so ... scam.
Tell your relatives this - nothing has changed, just the nature of scamming has.
I can see why people fall for this
I've been getting the "IRS" robo-calls every few weeks for a while now and while I know they are a scam, they're really good at sounding as scary and threatening as possible. Ugh.