IRS Scam

[blunthead]

Today a friend of mine received a call from someone claiming to be with the IRS, who said they were coming to arrest my friend this Monday for various reasons. My friend called the number of origin, and the person who answered said it was the IRS. I looked up the number's area code and found that it was a California one. I then looked up what city the area code originated from, which was Ignacio. That listing happened to show what company had the area code plus the first three digits of the phone number. The company is called Ymax Communications Corp., which was created by the man who invented MagicJack. I then googled Ymax Corp. to find numerous sites devoted to complaints of scams associated with it.

I've noticed that The Better Business Bureau gives Ymax Corp. an A+, which suggest to me that the company itself is not guilty of scamming. As I read the complaints and what people have discovered, apparently overseas scammers are able to fake an area code, and for some reason have been able to use Ymax Corp. via which to conduct their illegal operations. The complaints listed included several exactly like the one my friend endured, wherein the IRS was gonna come arrest people.

I just felt the need to share this bizarre info with the tet in case anyone here receives such a call. It's another example of the importance not to share personal info with anyone over the phone. When my friend began asking questions, the person asked if the last four numbers of my friend's SSN# were such and such. My friend said "no", but did not say what those numbers are. I expect some will automatically give those numbers out. Please be aware.

http://www.pissedconsumer.com/reviews-by-company/ymax.html

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/20...m-20120605_1_area-code-magicjack-phone-number

 

[fljoe0]

No law enforcement agency would ever call you to tell you they were going to arrest you, they just do it.

I've been hearing about some phone scams where someone calls and hangs up. If you call the number back on your caller ID, you get billed $20.

 

[FlakeNoir]

Man, that is very scary! Thanks for the heads up, Blunt.

 

[blunthead]

Man, that is very scary! Thanks for the heads up, Blunt.

Yer welcome. The idea in my friend's case I assume is to intimidate people into giving info voluntarily. Fortunately they failed in my friend's case. But without a doubt they succeed in others.

 

[MadamMack]

Yer welcome. The idea in my friend's case I assume is to intimidate people into giving info voluntarily. Fortunately they failed in my friend's case. But without a doubt they succeed in others.

Yeap, that's been going on all year.

A few years ago I got a similar call and was threaten too. The guy sounded like a crazy sergeant. He quoted a SSN to me and said that I owed the IRS this that and the other. I told him that wasn't my SSN but he insisted that it was and started yelling. I knew it was crap so I cursed him out like a real lady. I didn't raise my voice but I did tell him to kiss my MFA.

 

[blunthead]

Yeap, that's been going on all year.

A few years ago I got a similar call and was threaten too. The guy sounded like a crazy sergeant. He quoted a SSN to me and said that I own the IRS this that and the other. I told him that wasn't my SSN but he insisted that it was and started yelling. I knew it was crap so I cursed him out like a real lady. I didn't raise my voice but I did tell him to kiss my MFA.

I remember you!

 

[MadamMack]

I remember you!

Good . . .don't call back~

 

[MadamMack]

No law enforcement agency would ever call you to tell you they were going to arrest you, they just do it.

I've been hearing about some phone scams where someone calls and hangs up. If you call the number back on your caller ID, you get billed $20.

Yep, I've heard about that too. If I don't recognize the number I don't answer . . .hell, I don't answer most of the calls for numbers I do recognize~ I'm certainly not going to call back~

 

[Neesy]

I had a weird one call me up and say "This is your father" - it gave me the creeps. I said "My father is dead" (My father? How can you be my father?) I guess my tone of voice was pretty nasty
He then said "Yeah it's your father you f*cking bitch!"
p.s. My Dad's name was actually Roland (believe it or not Ripleys)

 

[mustangclaire]

I had a weird one call me up and say "This is your father" - it gave me the creeps. I said "My father is dead" (My father? How can you be my father?) I guess my tone of voice was pretty nasty
He then said "Yeah it's your father you f*cking bitch!"
p.s. My Dad's name was actually Roland (believe it or not Ripleys)

Neesy that's awful!! Did you do anything about it?

 

[The Nameless]

My best advice, keep an airhorn by the phone, if anyone tries to scam or prank you, deafen the b@stards.

 

[Walter Oobleck]

Or you could tell them that you died, pretend to be a relative, you're all there grieving, talking about it. And if it turns out it's not a scammer, some princess from Nigeria say, you could explain the situation and maybe laugh about it. But yeah, this happens all too frequently. Wife works at a bank and she comes home with news of people, usually the elderly, who have been taken in by a story. There was one, person gets a call for bail money from a grandson/nephew in Canada, they wire the money (as I recall) and the real grandson/nephew either stops by or calls within a half-hour but by then it was too late thought they tried to stop the money transfer.

 

[mjs9153]

I also don't answer calls,especially from out of the area code,from numbers I don't recognize.If they don't leave a message they are phishing in all likelihood.Normally don't get too many,but naturally our data is for sale and as soon as you register your number in things like warranties,or media sites,wham you get hit.Took the time to reenroll in the do not call registry,the federal number is 1 888 382 1222,easy step by step prompt enroll process..

 

[blunthead]

My best advice, keep an airhorn by the phone, if anyone tries to scam or prank you, deafen the b@stards.

I really like that, but how to protect your own ears?

 

[blunthead]

I also don't answer calls,especially from out of the area code,from numbers I don't recognize.If they don't leave a message they are phishing in all likelihood.Normally don't get too many,but naturally our data is for sale and as soon as you register your number in things like warranties,or media sites,wham you get hit.Took the time to reenroll in the do not call registry,the federal number is 1 888 382 1222,easy step by step prompt enroll process..

I enrolled in that years ago but it seemed not to help. Maybe it's more efficient now.

 

[mjs9153]

Me too,figured can't hurt to update, worked very good for years..

 

[The Nameless]

I really like that, but how to protect your own ears?

You can't really, but at least you know it's coming and can brace for it. The scumbags on the other end will jump out of their seat, they will have ringing in their ears for hours and will probably not be able to stop shaking for half an hour. Just imagining it will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Thankfully, I've never had phone scams - plenty of email scams, I have been asked for confirmation of my security details from "my bank" in an email riddled with grammatical errors, I just recently recieved an email thanking me for joining a health insurance company, just enter some details to complete my registration. A few things that were wrong with this:
1, it was sent to an email address that I set up for the sole purpose of creating an Android account for my phone, and has never been used since.
2, it told me to enter a "zip code" not a "post code", that is what we use in England.
3, it was from Baltimore.

My Nan had a nasty experice simillar to yours Neesy , when my Aunt broke up with her partner of over 20 years (he had a small man complex and a bread winner complex, he couldn't accept it when he lost his job and she stopped being a stay at home Mum and started providing for the family too), he started accusing her of all kinds, and even wanted to go on a Jerry Springer style trash show so that he could "prove" their Son was not his (sadly, he clearly is, and my Cousin hates the fact - he refers to him by his name now, not Dad), that's how unstable he went. One night he phoned my Nan (who is in her 80s) accusing her of sleeping with her own Brother - who had recently died. Thankfully she is strong minded, and thick skinned - she just told him "stop being a f*****g idiot and respect the dead".