Scammer Calls TBI, Hilarity Ensues: Watch

NASHVILLE, TN — Need proof the scammers who call purporting to be the IRS and threatening arrest don't seek a lot of intel on their marks? One — "Officer Kevin" — called the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and tried to pull the okeydoke on the agency's spokesman.

TBI spokesman Josh DeVine answered the call from the 1-800 number at his desk at the bureau's Nashville headquarters and while the legitimate IRS and law enforcement advise people just hang up, DeVine and colleague Susan Niland decided to have a little fun with Officer Kevin and help Tennesseans recognize the scam at the same time.

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The scammer starts by "confirming" DeVine's personal information. Wise to the trap, DeVine gives his name as "Jack RP Smith" with an address of 123 Main Street, which, honestly, should have been enough to let Officer Kevin know this was a fruitless fishing expedition. As if that wasn't enough, DeVine gives 123 Main's ZIP Code as 37216, when that address is actually 37213, information that takes about two seconds of work on Google Maps to determine.

Officer Kevin then rattles off a case number and claims that DeVine — or Jack RP Smith — owes more than $6,000 in taxes due to some "miscalculations" and that his choices are to either work out a payment plan or risk arrest "within an hour" by the sheriff.

Even though DeVine accidentally hangs up, Officer Kevin calls back — even though he could, again, have googled the number and determined that he was calling Tennessee's top law enforcement agency — and then he hears Niland's voice, wonders who "the woman" is and the pair let Kevin know that he has, in fact, called the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to run his con. Indeed, he called twice. Then, Officer Kevin lets loose what presumably is a tirade of obscenity.

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Conveniently, this all happened as the IRS issued a warning about the phishing scam.

The IRS reminds taxpayers than it will not:

• Call you to demand immediate payment. The IRS will not call you if you owe taxes without first sending you a bill in the mail.
• Demand that you pay taxes and not allow you to question or appeal the amount you owe.
• Require that you pay your taxes a certain way. For instance, require that you pay with a prepaid debit card.
• Ask for your credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
• Threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest you for not paying.

If you don’t owe taxes, or have no reason to think that you do:

• Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.
• Contact TIGTA to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” webpage. You can also call 800-366-4484.
• Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" in the notes.

Image via YouTube/TBI