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IRS Phone Scam busted...for now.

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Amazing! BTW I love that they recorded the calls - "All our Calls are recorded for quality control..." seriously!?
 
Nice of them to keep the evidence, make prosecution so much easier.

I haven't been hit by that one, but I have off and on had messages starting with "This is America IRS". Yea, sure..
 
I've received a few of those calls. Outside of the obvious fact that the IRS doesn't call people, I noticed that they said "Internal Revenue ServiceS" (I capitalize the "S" for emphasis). I figured that they would claim that they were different with that "S." :playful:
 
What is funny to me is the IRS phone scam calls I get (LOTS on two lines) is always recorded...and push a button to connect you to the real life scammer.
Never had a real person call.

Now, Microsoft Support with a problem with a virus on my computer...or errors....even more so.

ALWAYS answer those....'MIcrosoft XP Support Desk, how may we help you?"

And oh, they go ballistic.

Even so far as to calling me back 30 seconds after we finish a 20-minute go around on their license key (which I tell them is not correct for the XP Product Line) screaming "FXXX YOU!" and hang up.

I enjoy wasting their time.

Friend of mine has one of those portable boat horns with a can of compressed air he holds to the mouthpiece and pulls the trigger.....
 
LOL
Those "Windows Repair Services" people are fun. I tell them "but I don't have a computer" to which they sound astonished (before they hang up). Still my preference, in general, for these sorts of calls is to:
a) say "does your mother know you do this for a living?" (I once had someone call me back to report how mean that was)
b) say "hold on just a second, I'll be right back" (and, of course, just put the phone down for a long while).
 
Had one of those Microsoft fix me calls where I told the guys sorry I'm not home now. He stated he would stay on the phone and I was to go home immediately and go to some address to allow him in. When I said I couldn't do that he started getting nasty and told me I was "legally" required to do this because there was an "implied contract with purchase" that allowed Microsoft access to any computer whenever they wanted. At that point I said "but I have a MAC". The answer was that Microsoft had right legal right to access Apple too and do fixes. By then I was tired of the whole thing and hung up. He also called back and had some marginally creative words for me..
 
Whoa... that's dang aggressive!
Yes, the amusement only goes just so far, and then the hang-up happens.
 
How otherwise intelligent people can fall for these scams is beyond me. I've gotten a few Nigerian prince letters, couple of "IRS" calls and I just laugh. I would never click on any "Microsoft repair Service" that pops up. It's hard enough dealing with the real guys. A lawyer friend of mine was on his way to a Western Union office to wire money to "bail out his nephew from jail" when he caught on and turned back. There's no limit to the ingenuity of crooks and hackers. One reason why self-drive cars are a bad idea.
 
I suspect that most people that just don't know computers are vulnerable. Certainly the elderly. Some of the phishing scams are remarkably good. I just received a "password changed" fake email from Amazon and it's very sophisticated. Sometimes a scammer will even use various logos and real-looking links.

My favorite bit of sneaky trickery was back in the late 90s. They'd say that you might a virus if you had a file "hidden" on computer. So, they'd have you search your hard-drive for this obscure file... and delete it. Of course, it was a normal Windows operating file. Thankfully, for those that fell victim, I believe Windows would go get the replacement when needed.
 
Computers. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Paraphrasing Flounder in Animal House. Kent Dorfman. One of my favorite all-time funny movies. Where are the comedies today?
 
I've gotten scam calls stating the "IRS was going to sue me for back taxes".
they must not realize the tax folks would not trouble themselves with petty civil suites if they want what you've got.

really, these scammers are babies milk compared to the real IRS goons.
 
And why do people believe that they should go to Walmart and get a gift card to pay the government anything?? They want it they'll be garnishing wages, seizing bank accounts and/or property and such. While I'd like to see scammers arrested, some folks spent too long in the shallow end of the gene pool.
 
mikephillips said:
And why do people believe that they should go to Walmart and get a gift card to pay the government anything?? They want it they'll be garnishing wages, seizing bank accounts and/or property and such. While I'd like to see scammers arrested, some folks spent too long in the shallow end of the gene pool.
Click to expand...

Amen to that!

As others have said ... We don't need a Fountain of Youth. We need a Fountain of Smart!
 
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