IRS phone scams highlight a flaw in the way revenue is collected.
If it wasn’t so funny, I probably would have been terrified
Yesterday I was called by one of those fake IRS agents, who work out of call centers in East Asia. The scam is pretty straight forward, they tell people they owe money, threaten them with arrest, then offer them one chance to avoid prosecution. Go to the bank, withdraw money, and wire it to us immediately.
I always have fun with these people, and usually the performance is just for me. But yesterday, I thought I’d record how I often waste time here at Revolution HQ.
I’m doing this for two reasons. First off: these calls aren’t always fun. Some people who aren’t aware it’s a scam fall for it. They wouldn’t be doing this if there wasn’t still a lot of money that could be made frightening the gullible.
Secondly: it’s interesting to me that the IRS can strike such fear in people’s hearts, that they’re willing to open their bank for them. The only other scam that comes close, is the one where con artists pose as narco-terrorists who are holding a loved one for ransom. So that shows how people in America view the IRS.
It shouldn’t be that way. America was founded as a place where people didn’t have to fear their government. I know the IRS was originally instituted as a means of collecting revenue, but it has evolved into something far more sinister. Ironically, I imagine some people who have lost money are actually relieved when they learn it was just a scam artist, rather than an actual IRS audit.
Perhaps some of the calls to Abolish the IRS have not been unwarranted…
I’m assuming you reported this, right?
I’ve tried to report similar scams before, and no one is interested. The sheer volume, and international origin make it nearly impossible for the authorities to go after these kinds of crimes. So they pretend they’re not happening.
The Irony is, I probably have more chance of getting in trouble for recording the phone call, than he is for making it.
(and there’s a good chance that my indictment of the IRS in this article, will win me an audit later this year!)
Yeah, the victim becomes the accused. You’re smart enough to know it’s a scam. I feel sorry for the seniors who get taken advantage of.
Me too. I’ve never been the “public service” type, but it really was part of the reason why I did this.
I got the same call, and reported it.
They said if anyone from the IRS calls you, it’s a scam. They don’t call, they send certified mail.
They also said it was highly unlikely that they could catch the callers, because of the systems they use that make the calls damn near untraceable.
So when they called back, I told them that I’d pay them as soon as my great uncle, the recently deceased Nigerian prince, sends me my inheritance, and hung up.