OT - calls from the IRS

[blakcloud]

Canadians are not immune to this. I have been regularly been getting these calls. Change IRS with CRA and the same script.

[smontanaro]

"Consumers get an estimated 98 million robocalls daily, according to government watchdog agencies."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/...lls/535555002/

[Keith A]

Originally Posted by avalonracing

I got one too this Monday from 858-222-1045 where they said if I don't contact them I "will be taken under custody by the local cops". Yes, they used the word "cops".
Sounds legit, right?

Since I gave you all the number you are welcome to call and send them money so the "cops" don't take you too.

Got this one too, and I even kept the recording as the "local cops" was humorous.

[Llewellyn]

These types of scam calls have been rife if Australia for a couple of years. Maybe they weren't getting enough victims here so they've turned their sights to the US. Personaly we haven't had them from the ATO but we get them from the "Accident Investigation Department". They also like to send them via text message.

[parris]

I had a gentleman come to my desk a couple of months ago terrified with one of these calls. He's here on a student visa so he's not use to the scams. The great part is that he still had the scammer's on the phone so some LE assistance was given...

The ones over and above this that P**s me off are the scams where older people send money to "save" a family member. There are several cases that I've seen recently.

[Keith A]

Got another one this morning, same exact voice as before, but they now say the "local police" instead of "local cops".

[bikingshearer]

Real calls (as opposed to robocalls) like this are why I wish I had a very, very load police whistle next to the phone at all times.

I'll never really do it, but the thought makes me giggle in a malicious, "yeah it was wrong but he had it coming" sort of way.

[Veloo]

Wonder if you'd get in trouble if you posted something on Craigslist (or Kijiji) proposing something similar like:

The following numbers are scammers - let's jam their lines:

416-
647-
905-

Just not sure what category would be best.

[smontanaro]

Originally Posted by Keith A

Got another one this morning, same exact voice as before, but they now say the "local police" instead of "local cops".

Dang! They're getting good. They have spies on The Paceline!

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[benb]

Sounds like we can form a team in prison if the IRS will let us bike around the prison yard.

You can't really do anything about blocking these. I've been blocking them 1 by 1 but it's fairly pointless.

The IP Telephony Spec allows the devices to change the phone # that comes through on the call. It's up to the carrier/customer to follow an honor system and report who is calling truthfully.

The scammers are just using a software package that drives their IP Telephony switch. It can make a million calls and every call will look like it came from a different #. 1 million calls, 1 million phone #s. None of the phone #s are actually the scammers #.

So you block it and you just block someone else. If they hit the lottery they'd pick a # that is one of your contacts and your iPhone/Android would tell you it was your mother calling.

From what I've read one of the reasons this is so hard to stop is there is usually some guy in the US to collect the money but all the activity comes out of India beyond the reach of the FTC/FBI/whatever.

[gdw]

"The IP Telephony Spec allows the devices to change the phone # that comes through on the call. It's up to the carrier/customer to follow an honor system and report who is calling truthfully.

The scammers are just using a software package that drives their IP Telephony switch. It can make a million calls and every call will look like it came from a different #. 1 million calls, 1 million phone #s. None of the phone #s are actually the scammers #."

I received five calls in one day from the same number and was able to reach them by redialing . The first time I called our conversation ended after the clown became frustrated with my questions and hung up. He started to curse at me as soon as he picked up the phone the second time. Third and subsequent calls resulted in immediate hangups without any conversation. How was I able to return their calls if the software is constantly changing the number?

[unterhausen]

there are some low-rent work from home scam victims doing this. So they aren't all using software that can switch the number.

I don't answer any calls from our exchange, because all the business numbers in this area are on two other exchanges. So that's convenient. We also have our phone to go to voicemail after two rings.

I would suggest it's not wise to call them back. If there is a callback number, just forward the number to the IRS. There was a big police action in India last year that temporarily put a damper on the calls. It was from one of the richest cities in India. So not all is hopeless.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/08/w...e-is-held.html

Another thing you can do is subscribe to the jolly roger telephone company service and annoy them into dropping your number. The callers pay for your number, and they don't like paying for a number protected by jolly roger.
http://www.jollyrogertelco.com/

[longlist]

I got one from the number 987-654-3210.

[HenryA]

I like to start the interaction with a lot of loud “whaaaaatttttt?” and “speak up, I’m a little deaf”. Takes up a few minutes of their time at minimum effort. The microsoft support calls I deliver a special treat - sometimes it can take 15 minutes if I’m feeling especially frisky and have nothing else to do.

[avalonracing]

Originally Posted by Keith A

Got this one too, and I even kept the recording as the "local cops" was humorous.

I kept the recording too. It also looks good on the iPhone visual voicemail.