WASHINGTON ? The Internal Revenue Service today warned consumers about a sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, throughout the country.

Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver?s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting.

?This scam has hit taxpayers in nearly every state in the country.  We want to educate taxpayers so they can help protect themselves.  Rest assured, we do not and will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone, nor request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer,? says IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel. ?If someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from the IRS and threatens police arrest, deportation or license revocation if you don?t pay immediately, that is a sign that it really isn?t the IRS calling.? Werfel noted that the first IRS contact with taxpayers on a tax issue is likely to occur via mail
Other characteristics of this scam include:
Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.
Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim?s Social Security Number.
Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it?s the IRS calling.
Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls.
Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.
After threatening victims with jail time or driver?s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim.
If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here?s what you should do:
If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue ? if there really is such an issue.
If you know you don?t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you?ve never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats as described above), then call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1.800.366.4484.
If you?ve been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their ?FTC Complaint Assistant? at FTC.gov.  Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" to the comments of your complaint.
Taxpayers should be aware that there are other unrelated scams (such as a lottery sweepstakes) and solicitations (such as debt relief) that fraudulently claim to be from the IRS.
The IRS encourages taxpayers to be vigilant against phone and email scams that use the IRS as a lure. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information.  This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels. The IRS also does not ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts. Recipients should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, forward the e-mail to phishing@irs.gov.

More information on how to report phishing scams involving the IRS is available on the genuine IRS website, IRS.gov.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Warns-of-Pervasive-Telephone-Scam

A man identifying himself as Roy Hamilton, announced he was an agent from the Internal Revenue Service, and tried to extort money from me. He had an accent, and he told me his number was that of the IRS Agency in Pittsburgh. Obviously a fraud. I asked him for his phone number and he gave me the number 412.342.5542.

These people are calling me every 10 minutes claiming to be officers.  Very heavy Indian accents and threatening me to call back or else I will be arrested.  I went to the FTC website to report the phone number and it was closed because of the government shutdown!!  I'll try again later.  These people are extremely annoying and something has to be done.

Since they woke me up at 6 o' clock in the morning today, I have called them twice. Judging by the fact that they have no voicemail, but the answering machine hangs up right away, they are screening the calls, and have less resources than a telemarketer (Ishould know).

I suggest everybody harass their a***s every half an hour or so, because their scam is pretty f>@#ing WEAK!!! So why not give him a taste of his own b***s***. IT WILL BE FUNNNNNNN!!!!!!!  
I Guarantee it!

CALL THE MO' FO' EVERY HALF AN HOUR. UNTIL YOU GET HIS PHONE NUMBER AND ADDRESS FOR YOUR LAWYER. THIS SCAM ARTIST CAN END UP PAYING FOR YOUR NEXT MAJOR PURCHASES, IF HE KEEPS TRYING TO SCAM PEOPLE.

Record the calls. And make sure it is understood that the calls are unsolicited!!!

THE PERSON WHO TAKES HIS A** TO THE CLEANERS, WILL GET $1000 FROM ME, PLUS TIP.
LET'S PURSUE HIM AND TAKE CONTROL!!!

All I ask is that you have proof that the @$$hole you take down is the same 1 who called at 6am today or 2 months ago. Or whatever, I just want their head on a stick.

Contact Chakennyus@yahoo.com, with stories of retribution, and to recieve payment, AFTER showing proof!

HAPPY HUNTING!!!

He called me at 6;00am. When I asked for the phone number and name so my attorney could call, he told me to S*** HIS*****. Now he is calling at  different numbers. He asked for my "Supervisor" so he could tell them I am a criminal.

I almost feel sorry for him. He thinks he is calling my job, but he is calling my mom's phone. I answered not knowing who it was. Had my mom answered, he would be intensive care. I just don't want to look stupid for applying for a loan over a year ago, which is why he is ILLEGALLY CALLING ME NOW. But he will find that out when he speaks to my mom, MY LAWYER, who I notified about this stalker 2 MONTHS AGO. If he thinks I'm tough, he should call AGAIN, and deal
with my attorney for this serious matter he is willing to "HELP"me with.

DO NOT CALL AGAIN AS A STRANGER ASKING FOR MONEY NOT TO THROW ME IN JAIL FOR S***, NOBODY DID. IT'S NOT LEGAL


AND I WILL POST THIS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, OR AT THE VERY LEAST THE NY DAILY NEWS.

Received call 9-24-13 on my cell phone from and alleged name of Eric Watson at this ALLEGED financial Crimes Investigations stating I should call him back immediately. He has an Eastern dialect or possibly Indian accent, states that I may be sued over this alleged act, and to call him back Immediately.

I have called the Police last year in regard to the same call from the same entity and am on a Notionsl DO NOT CALL list (allot of good that does).

threatened to be arrested for an unpaid payday loan. I said I wanted to settle it. after setting up what I
thought may be a settlement Robin Parker calls back to tell me they only accept visa cards.  what a rip
off.  why cant these people be stopped

A so called officer named Johnson called my job and said I  needed to contact a  attorney named Micheal Robbinson within 40 minutes to stop a warrant being issued for me. I talked to this attorney they wanted money to stop the warrant. Wouldn't tell me what company he worked for or if he could send me any information about this case being brought to me.

This is a criminal extortion scam operating out of India. They are making the calls utilizing VOIP and the names of legitimate firms to make it appear the calls are originating from within the US. There is NO "company" or "debt" and you will NOT be arrested. They are harvesting and/or buying consumers' personal identifying information from unscrupulous websites like the one you may have filled out an application with, and you need to do whatever you can to protect yourself. This includes: Notifying the FTC: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/, placing fraud alerts with all three credit bureaus, notifying your bank and employer and letting these criminals know you are aware they are attempting to extort money for a non-existent debt and have alerted the authorities.

ABC News released an investigative report on this scam a year ago:

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/phantom-debt-co ... ory?id=16512428

Got a call from an indian man said he would surpriaw me at my doorstep or place of employment about fraud under my name and ssn said to call 4123425542 and speak to robin parker I called amd apoke to aomeone the indian man said he would call me back and hung up

Its illegal for them to claim they are a officer!

Please do file reports with the FBI, your state attorney general and Department Of Justice,FTC & FCC..

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
http://www.fbi.gov/
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
https://esupport.fcc.gov/ccmsforms/form1088.action
https://complaints.donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck.aspx?panel=2

Also read up on the laws and your rights:

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/search ...
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/pdf-0096-fair-credit-reporting-act.pdf

And see:

http://800notes.com/forum/ta-86217073a9c8dad/ ... 077595690349410
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http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors
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http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/pressreleases/extortion_scam.htm
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Section 809 of the FDCPA http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf requires 3rd-party debt collectors to give debtors written notice of debt (the key word is *shall*) :
"§ 809. Validation of debts
(a) Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing?
(1) the amount of the debt;
(2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;
(3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector;
(4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector; and
(5) a statement that, upon the consumer?s written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor."
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A Collection Agent May Not?

Here are the top 11 actions prohibited by the The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:

Misrepresent Him or Herself

  A debt collector may not misrepresent himself as an attorney or law enforcement officer.

Use the Telephone to Annoy or Harass

  A collection agent may not cause a telephone to ring or engage any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with an intent to annoy, abuse, or harass anyone at the called number.

Threaten Arrest or Lawsuit

  A collection agent may not threaten a consumer with arrest. It may not threaten legal action that is either not permitted or not actually contemplated. In other words, a the threat of a lawsuit may be an empty one.

Use Abusive or Threatening Language

  A debt collector may no use abusive or profane language in the course of communication related to the debt.

Publish a Bad Debt List

  Publishing the consumer?s name or address on a "bad debt" list is prohibited.

Contact By Embarrassing Media

  A debt collector may not communicate with a consumer by post card. It may not use any language or symbol, other than the debt collector?s address, on any envelope when communicating with a consumer by use of the mails or by telegram. A debt collector may use its business name if such name does not indicate it is in the debt collection business.

Contact a Consumer at Work

  A collection agent may not communicate with consumers at their place of employment after being told this is unacceptable or prohibited by the employer.

Seek Unjustifiable Amounts

  A debt collector may not demand any amounts not permitted under an applicable contract or as provided under law.

Contact a Consumer Represented by an Attorney

  A collection agent may not contact a consumer after it learns the consumer is represented by a lawyer.

Communicate With a Consumer After Receiving a Validation Request

  If a consumer sends a written §1692g response within 30 days, the collection agent may not communicate with the consumer until it mails the consumer the requested verification of original creditor's name and address.

Communicate With Third Parties

  A debt collector may not reveal or discuss the nature of a consumer?s debts with third parties other than the consumer?s spouse or attorney. A collection agent may contact neighbors or co-workers only to obtain location information. It may contact a third party again if it has reason to believe the information the party provided previously is false.

Bills.com FDCPA FAQ

Below are questions Bills.com readers ask frequently:

Can a Collection Agent Call My Cell Phone?

  Yes. However, if you tell the debt collector it may not use that number because it is a cell phone, it may not contact you again at that number.

I Keep Receiving Dozens of Calls From Collection Agents. Is That Legal?

  No. Unscrupulous collection agents will use "block parties" or "office parties" where they contact a consumer, multiple neighbors, or co-workers telling them they need to reach the consumer on an urgent matter. This is not permitted under the FDCPA.

A Collector Says I Will Be Arrested if I Do Not Pay

  This was a true statement before the US Civil War, but has not been true since. People may be arrested if an aggressive judge files a bench warrant for a person who does not appear at a hearing relating to a lawsuit regarding a debt. However, in that case, the offense is the failure to respond to a court order, and not the existence of the debt. As stated above, it is illegal under the FDCPA to threaten a consumer with arrest if the consumer does not pay the debt.

Basicaly the same messages...warrent....turn self in for fraud charges

Receiving calls from "Virginia state department" officer Dominick Johnson, threatening to arrest me for fraud if i do not call this number (attorney). Have been calling my cell and my JOB telling them there are warrants out for my arrest.  Completely not true, can this be stopped????

received a call from an indian man with a heavy accent threatning to have me arrested. SCAM

got a call from a person with huge accent. claimed to be a fla police officer asked for badge number(5201) name dominick johnson to call a robin parker about a law suit???? 412-342-5542 call came in as an emergency call no number showed when asked are you a county,state,or federal officer he hung up???scam on