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Monday
Aug252014

Beware of Scam Phone Callers identifying themselves as calling from the Legal Affairs Agency (IRS)

imageThis past Sunday I received a call from a foreign gentleman stating he was from the Legal Affairs Agency and told me that the IRS had issued a warrant for my arrest for fraudulent tax reporting and they wanted me to wait at my house for two agents from the IRS to come and identify me and take me to jail for 6 months.

After being hung up on from the caller, (I called him back on the number he left me), I realized that this was a total scam. After spending a little time researching the phone number and referencing IRS Scam it seems that this has been going on for a very long time. It is a well documented scam so beware if you get the call. They are very convincing and for most of us, the bare mention of the IRS has us scared sh!!!less. If you have ever been through an IRS audit you will find that if they want to, they’ll find something to justify their looking at you. So when something like this happens you might have a tendency to jump to the wrong conclusion.

They never did ask for money from me but they have from other reports. Can’t imagine why they didn’t try with me but I was giving them a lot of guff. First off, the government is not going to haul you off without notification. Second, a foreign accent coming from the Southwest and not local or in DC is just not going to happen. When my accountant confronted they on the phone by asking for their supervisors name and number they just hung up. This would probably be a great way to shut them up very quickly. Anyway, I just wanted to make you aware that these guys handle social engineering real will and can get you going if you don’t sit back and think about what they are telling you.

How do you prevent being aggravated from this? If you don’t recognize the number on your caller don’t pickup! They will get discouraged if they don’t ever talk to someone and eventually go away. If you want to find out who the caller was Google the number. It should give you hint as to where it is coming from. If you are not expecting a call like this, of course you’re not, just don’t respond. Take a deep breath and erase the message and go on with your life.

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