Dozens arrested at India call center linked to IRS scam calls

[47of74]

Some good news out of India;

abc27.com/2016/10/06/dozens-arrested-at-india-call-center-linked-to-irs-scam-calls/

Quote

Indian police have arrested 70 people and are questioning hundreds more after uncovering a massive scam to cheat thousands of Americans out of millions of dollars by posing as U.S. tax authorities and demanding unpaid taxes, a police officer said Thursday.

According to police in Mumbai, the yearlong scam involved running fake call centers which sent voice mail messages telling U.S. nationals to call back because they owed back taxes.

Police said they are likely to file charges against many of the 600 or more people still being questioned on suspicion of running the fake call centers, housed on several stories of a Mumbai office building.

Those arrested so far include several of the alleged ringleaders, as well as people accused of providing equipment and setting up the fake call centers. The criminal charges filed against the suspects include extortion, impersonation and violations of India’s information technology laws.

I wonder if these people have gotten a hold of their retained attorneys yet to help them? 

You'll excuse me if I don't feel sorry for these crooks...I hope they all go away for a real long time.

[2manyKidzzz]

I saw an ad for a security system thing and it talked about people calling and telling you you had a virus in your computer and wanted you to go to your computer and log in and so on.

So I get a call, the man had an Indian accent and asked me if we had a computer and could I go to it..

 

I said "Oh My God....Do We have a VIRUS?!?!?!?!?!?"

He said "Fu%$ You" and hung up. I am so smart. 

True story. 

[JoyfulSel]

19 hours ago, 2manyKidzzz said:

I saw an ad for a security system thing and it talked about people calling and telling you you had a virus in your computer and wanted you to go to your computer and log in and so on.

So I get a call, the man had an Indian accent and asked me if we had a computer and could I go to it..

 

I said "Oh My God....Do We have a VIRUS?!?!?!?!?!?"

He said "Fu%$ You" and hung up. I am so smart. 

True story. 

So funny! The same thing happened to my mother while we were on vacation. The man with a thick Indian accent started yelling at her to get to her computer now, it has a virus. We were by the pool and my mom (knowing it was a scam) started freaking out and saying "But I'm not near my computer, what should I do?!" He started shouting that she had to go now and when she informed him that was not possible, he also cursed and then hung up. It's sad how many people truly get dupped by these terrible scammers! My grandfather got the fake IRS call last week, thankfully he didn't wire any money.

[Gossamer1]

If you google trolling irs scammers you will find some really funny youtube clips. 

[Cleopatra7]

It seems like scams of all kinds are proliferating these days (someone stole my debit card information last week, which probably is influencing my view of a scammy world). There are even academic publishing scams making the rounds of PhD programs desperate to put something on their resumes:

https://scholarlyoa.com/2012/11/05/lambert-academic-publishing-a-must-to-avoid/

I was targeted by Lambert with an email, but fortunately I recognized it was a scam right away, because the message claimed it wanted to publish my bio on the "students" section of my PhD program, evidence that their bots were simply crawling for possible titles without thought to the content. What's really scammy about Lambert is not just that they take advantage of students, but that they compile Wikipedia articles and other free online content into POD books and sell them on Amazon. 

[Chocolatedefrauded]

I hate scammers Ike these with a passion! We've had a minor problem with the IRS this year (SSN may have been used by someone else) so I had to spends hours on hold with IRS, mail forms in to prove our identity & just last week got a letter that we owe $14.10 in late penalty. Luckily I could prove we paid in April & the check was cashed. We even thought the first letter was a scam after hearing these stories. We're actually lucky...

[LadyCrow1313]

I've had a few IRS scam messages left on my answering machine at home within the last year or so. Each message  said to call this important number immediately, otherwise I'd get arrested. I was genuinely nervous about it, so I did research online (with the IRS website) first. Due to logical conversations I had with my parents (to give them the heads up on this sort of nonsense), I came to the realization that if the IRS was truly that desperate to contact me, they could send me a snail mail letter.

If I see a call coming in and I don't recognize the number, I ignore it (& if it's important enough, the person will either leave a message or call back). I think that whomever invented answering machines/voicemail/caller id should be elevated to sainthood.

[Fascinated]

I fervently hope that 'Mark Ryan' is among those arrested. He attempted to scam my son ('Mark' worked for the 'Canadar Revenue Agency') last year and my heroic husband repeatedly phoned 'Mark' back, calling him some very colourful, yet highly appropriate, names. Don't mess with our kids, asshole. These people are scumbags of the first order.

[paganbaby]

We've gotten several of these IRS calls. I also got one of the "your computer has a virus" ones from a pretty clueless Reader of Scripts. (Anyone who's dealt with call centers has encountered the dreaded Reader of Scripts, who says nothing but standard responses.)  I asked him what company he was from, and he replied, "Windows." I said Windows was a operating system; I wanted the company name. He said, "Windows." I asked what I should do if I wasn't using the Windows OS. He said, "Your computer has a virus," and recited the rest of the original spiel. We circled this twice, his voice getting more and more agitated as he insisted,  "Windows!" I got bored and hung up.

[DaisyD]

I've gotten the IRS scam calls from several numbers that my Sprint phone identified as "IRS Scam". That made it easy, lol. I got the "you have a virus" calls for a couple of years. I fucked with them in every way I could think of to try to get them to stop calling, including telling them I run DOS on my computer. I finally pinned the guy down with:

"Which computer?"

"The one running windows."

"They all run windows. Which one?"

"The one running windows 7."

"They all run windows 7."

"The one belonging to (my maiden name that I haven't used in 15 years)."

I laughed hysterically and told him that she's dead and that she never owned a computer. I haven't heard from them since. I have no idea how they got my maiden name associated with this phone number. I got this number well after I got married, it's never been associated with my maiden name.

[TeddyBonkers]

I get the "computer virus" calls ALL THE TIME. 

Scammer: "Your computer has a virus."

Me: "OH MY GOD, is it because of all the porn my husband promised that he doesn't look at anymore but clearly he IS because there's a virus on my computer? Can you tell me how often he searches for porn if I give you my login and password?"

It's a game to see how often I can say "porn" without them hanging up. Current record is 12.

[samurai_sarah]

@daisyd681 I loved the "you have a virus" calls I got. I too messed around with them. My favourite was when a caller got so frustrated with me that he demanded to speak to my husband.

"I'm single."

"Then put the male head of the household on the phone!"

"I'm the head of the household!"

"Put a male on the phone!"

"I don't think the dog knows anything about computers. Are you quite sure you want to talk to him?"

The caller just hung up. It was fun messing around, but I wasn't unhappy when they stopped. Still, they were far more fun than the usual cold-calls we get- they either want to renovate my kitchen, or sell my place for me. Boring, I'm renting. I don't mess with those calls, but the scams are fun for me.

FTR, I'm not immune to scams, I'm sure. I've just been lucky enough so far to recognize the ones I've encountered.

Mr ss was not so lucky. While on an extended work trip to China, he fell for "the teahouse scam". He was wandering about, and two young female "students" approached him. They claimed that they were English students and wanted to practice their language skills on him. Mr ss had nothing planned for that Saturday afternoon, so he agreed. They invited him to tea, and showed him several teahouses. He let them pick one, and they had tea.

When the bill came, the "students" didn't have enough cash to cover it, pooling didn't work either (I forget why), so Mr ss paid by credit card. Of course, the owners were in on the scam, and ran his card as often as they could, giving him only one receipt. When he found that his card was maxxed out, he called his bank, and then figured out where it had happened. His bank accepted his story and put the transfer of funds on hold. I forget how the legalities work, but what happened is that the scammers' bank was tardy and uncommunicative, so Mr ss' bank could legally cancel the payments. But it nearly ruined his credit-rating.

What it did ruin - for a while- was his faith in humankind. He's travelled all over the world, and met so many kind people that he had no reason to suspect a thing. He was distraught that someone would take advantage of him, and that people would rib him for "falling for the charms" of two scammers. (It hurt him that anyone would think he'd ever want to be unfaithful to me, and that that would be a joke.)

While I find scammers funny, Mr ss doesn't. And I can see his point. Falling for a scam doesn't only come at a financial cost, but at a human one too. Mr ss doubted himself and his judgement for a long time. He thought that maybe he'd just been lucky with the honest and kind people he'd met previously, letting one experience ruin a lifetime of good experiences. It's not just scamming people out of money. It's painful, and it breeds distrust and self-doubt. A successful scammer can destroy far more than savings!

So, good for India! Keep up the good work!

[Gossamer1]

2 hours ago, samurai_sarah said:

@daisyd681 I loved the "you have a virus" calls I got. I too messed around with them. My favourite was when a caller got so frustrated with me that he demanded to speak to my husband.

"I'm single."

"Then put the male head of the household on the phone!"

"I'm the head of the household!"

"Put a male on the phone!"

"I don't think the dog knows anything about computers. Are you quite sure you want to talk to him?"

You should have given the phone to the dog after putting some peanut butter on the mouthpiece!

[samurai_sarah]

1 minute ago, Gossamer1 said:

You should have given the phone to the dog after putting some peanut butter on the mouthpiece!

LOL - if something like that ever happens again, I'll do that. And you get the credit!

[VelociRapture]

Just a friendly reminder -

The IRS will never email you about potential issues. They will always notify you through snail mail. If you receive a call asking for personal information - such as SS number or bank account numbers - it is likely a scam because the IRS doesn't ask for that type of information over the phone. DO NOT give them any personal information no matter how much they threaten to take immediate action.

If you receive a call or email like this, please do the following:

- Call 1-800-829-1040 if you know or suspect you owe taxes.

- Call 1-800-366-4484 to report the incident if you know you don't owe any taxes.

- You can file a complaint online at: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/Information?OrgCode=IRS#crnt

For IRS impersonators, select "Other" and then "Imposters Scam." In the notes section, specify it was an "IRS Telephone scam."

- Forward any scam emails to: phishing@irs.gov

DO NOT open any attachments. They could contain viruses. Just forward the email.

Please remind your loved ones about this. Tax Season is approaching and it'll make life way easier for all involved.

Also, get your damn tax information to your Accountant well ahead of the April 15th deadline. It's one thing if you aren't able to get everything together early, but another thing entirely if you have your stuff and just wait for no reason. Please? 

Just a friendly reminder from your resident CPA Wife.

Source: https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/irs-repeats-warning-about-phone-scams

[47of74]

On 10/9/2016 at 0:07 PM, daisyd681 said:

I've gotten the IRS scam calls from several numbers that my Sprint phone identified as "IRS Scam". That made it easy, lol. I got the "you have a virus" calls for a couple of years. I fucked with them in every way I could think of to try to get them to stop calling, including telling them I run DOS on my computer. I finally pinned the guy down with:

"Which computer?"

"The one running windows."

"They all run windows. Which one?"

"The one running windows 7."

"They all run windows 7."

"The one belonging to (my maiden name that I haven't used in 15 years)."

I laughed hysterically and told him that she's dead and that she never owned a computer. I haven't heard from them since. I have no idea how they got my maiden name associated with this phone number. I got this number well after I got married, it's never been associated with my maiden name.

You know, I've been sorely tempted to tell telemarketers that I was dead when they called.  Only reason I didn't is because I was worried they would put that on their computers then it would get spread around and I would wake up someday my bank accounts and other accounts were all frozen because they thought I was dead.

One time a number of years ago my Grandma was on vacation.  While she was away another woman with the same name as her died.  Grandma came back to find out that the social security people thought she had died, not the other woman.  That was fun getting all that straightened out.

 

[Becket70]

I love messing with these calls. After letting them go on about my computer, I tell them I don't own a computer. They hang up immediately. By the way, I know by experience the IRS contacts you by letter if there is a problem. In my case, the tax preparer made an error and I owed $600 more. I went to a different accountant who wrote to the IRS about the error. I paid what I owed and ended up getting a thank you letter from the IRS because I handled the situation in less than 30 days. They also refunded the penalty charge.

 

 

[ADoyle90815]

My dad was close to falling for that IRS scam, only because he once called them after they sent him a letter to resolve a minor issue. Fortunately, he caught on quickly that it was a scam and realized that snail mail is the only way they contact people.

I've gotten the IRS scam once, but I've gotten a couple of the fake computer virus scam ones, and those are ones I love to mess with. Lately, with the election, I've just turned off the ringer to the landline because of all of the political calls. Doing that has also contained some of those scam calls as well so I haven't had the fun of messing with the "Windows" assholes.

[Coconut Flan]

I enjoy messing with both of them along with getting calls allegedly from a New England attorney that I'm being sued and haven't responded.  They have left me alone since I told them I would turn them over to the FBI if they called again.  Mostly I let calls go to the phone butler, but I do enjoy tormenting a few of them.

[alba]

26 minutes ago, ADoyle90815 said:

My dad was close to falling for that IRS scam, only because he once called them after they sent him a letter to resolve a minor issue. Fortunately, he caught on quickly that it was a scam and realized that snail mail is the only way they contact people.

I've gotten the IRS scam once, but I've gotten a couple of the fake computer virus scam ones, and those are ones I love to mess with. Lately, with the election, I've just turned off the ringer to the landline because of all of the political calls. Doing that has also contained some of those scam calls as well so I haven't had the fun of messing with the "Windows" assholes.

OMG YOU CAN DO THAT?!

My MIL has a knack for phoning approximately 15 minutes after I go to bed. Every damn time. I need to figure out how to turn the ringer off on our landline XD

[church_of_dog]

10 minutes ago, alba said:

OMG YOU CAN DO THAT?!

My MIL has a knack for phoning approximately 15 minutes after I go to bed. Every damn time. I need to figure out how to turn the ringer off on our landline XD

My landline ringer stays off as a general rule.  I originally got the landline because it was bundled with my DSL service and cheap, and when I signed up I was pondering getting rid of the cell.  Which I still do on occasion.  I then accepted that I need to keep my cell for now because I have a business and everyone knows that number already.  I kept the landline because I had workers at my house and wanted them to have a way to make an emergency call out even if I wasn't home, or to receive a call from a supplier etc.  Now that the house is done the ringer stays off.

(I'm a totally phone-averse person and hate talking on phones whether cell or landline.  I resisted getting a cell phone for years but eventually got one in 2006ish when I lived where there was no landline service.  Then I moved "to town" and got a landline but still fantasize about getting rid of them both.)

The people who know me have my cell number, so calls on the landline are almost exclusively either scams or wrong numbers, or the occasional person who looks me up in the phone book.  I don't have an answering machine hooked up at the moment either, so they are just out.of.luck!

[Rio]

When my teenage son was on a school trip to D.C., a scammer called my 80-year-old mother and pretended to be him, in jail, asking for bail money.   She was buying it, up until he wanted her to wire $400 and for some reason (she is a miser for one) it finally clicked and she hung up. When I called to warn the other set of grandparents, my MIL said she had had calls like that before with someone's pretending to be a different grandchild.

My new thing with all these awful solicitation calls is to say loudly, "Go ahead, caller, you're on the air!" They hate that. 

 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

For some reason, I'm listed on some white pages type listings by 2 ages at the same address. One is my accurate age and the other is my mom's age. So even though I'm not 50 yet, I get all the idiots who call and try to scam older people. I get the medic alert system calls, the medical supplies to your door calls, etc. etc. I also don't answer the phone unless I know the number, so I don't get to play with any of the callers, but they still annoy me! By the time I really am in my 70s, I may just be screaming at them in irritation!

[Jasmar]

When my kids were little (between 1-3) I'd hand the phone to them. it was awesome! They always wanted to talk on the big person phone, and this gave them lots of practice. 

[paganbaby]

2 hours ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

For some reason, I'm listed on some white pages type listings by 2 ages at the same address. One is my accurate age and the other is my mom's age. So even though I'm not 50 yet, I get all the idiots who call and try to scam older people. I get the medic alert system calls, the medical supplies to your door calls, etc. etc. I also don't answer the phone unless I know the number, so I don't get to play with any of the callers, but they still annoy me! By the time I really am in my 70s, I may just be screaming at them in irritation!

Completely off topic -- Love the Aeryn icon!