Boynton Beach Police Warn Of Phone Scam
BOYNTON BEACH (CBSMiami) - Police in Boynton Beach are warning its residents about a new telephone scam.
A 68-year old woman told police she received from a man who claimed to be from the Internal Revenue Service who said she owed $5,389.32 in taxes. If she did not pay it immediately, the man said she would be arrested and taken to jail. She would also lose her house.
The caller told her she needed to go to the bank and withdraw $5,000 in cash. She was then to go to CVS and buy 10 Money Pak cards valued at $500 each.
The woman did as she was told and provided the "IRS agent" with the account numbers off all but one of the prepaid debit cards.
This was not the first time police have heard of someone falling prey to this phone scam which has been targeting taxpayers throughout
the country.
The scam is so sophisticated that the suspects have found a way to make it seem as if they are calling from an actual IRS toll-free number (1-800-829-1040).
Some characteristics of this scam include; callers use fake names and IRS badge numbers; they may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim's Social Security Number and send bogus IRS emails to victims to support their calls.
According to the IRS, they never request credit card numbers over the phone nor will they ask for a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. Also, the agency does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information.
People who get calls from someone claiming to be from the IRS have options.
If they know they owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, they can call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS employees at that line can help with a payment issue if there really is such an issue.
People who know they don't owe taxes or have no reason to think that they owe any taxes should report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484.
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