IRS Phone Scammer Cheats Wayland Woman Out of $2K

WAYLAND, MA - A Wayland women said she lost almost $2,000 to IRS phone scammers, Wicked Local reported.

The woman told police she had driven to a retail store in Framingham and sent two money orders to a man who called her claiming to be an IRS agent, Wicked Local reported.

The man reportedly left the victim a message saying that he was an IRS aget. When the victim returned the call the scammer identified himself as "David Gray" with the IRS and said she owed about $5,000 from the 2013 tax year, according to Wicked Local.

The woman described the man as hostile and said he had an Indian accent, Wicked Local reported.

Wayland police said they have received several reports of these types of scams.

The IRS said they never contact people in this manner and initial communication is generally done through the mail.

"An aggressive and sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, has been making the rounds throughout the country. Callers claim to be employees of the IRS, but are not," the IRS wrote in a statement.

"These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may know a lot about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling."

The scammers reportedly get hostile if the victim refuses to pay and make threats of "arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license."

"Note that the IRS will never: 1) call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill; 2) demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe; 3) require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card; 4) ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone; or 5) threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying," the IRS said.