The "I.R.S." Scam

[wolfie]

I lost power for about a week last winter due to the ice storm we had. I couldn't keep my cell phone charged enough to be reliable in a pinch, so I was glad to have the land line.

If you keep your eyes open, there are some "no 120 VAC" cellphone chargers out there. I've seen 3 kinds - one takes disposable batteries (some take 4xAAA, some 4xAA, some 1xAA with a "booster" circuit to bring the voltage up), another uses a solar panel to charge up an external power pack with a USB outlet, and the third has a hand-cranked generator (some are just the charger, others include devices like a radio or flashlight). Of the 3, I prefer the generator (your "stash" of batteries will run out during a really long power failure, and in winter the lack of light will probably cause the solar panel to deliver less energy long-term than your phone sucks out of the device). Anyone without a land line might want to look into getting one of these - and hope that the cell towers have backup generators for both the electronic AND the climate control (I've heard of cell towers going down when the gear overheated - the cooling system wasn't on the backup power).

[Cia]

I got two of the faux IRS calls both of them recordings. A woman with a thick East Indian accents said: "This message is for you. This message is for you." and etc. Like the real IRS wouldn't know the name of the person they were calling that is if the real IRS called taxpayers out of the blue in the first place. The call came from the 202 area code and I saved the number to pass on to other scammers.

Found out on one of the "Windows is calling us about an infection on your laptop" calls that they don't understand Spanish. So I'm making a list of Spanish, German and the whole two words in Korean I know to use randomly in conversations with them.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Found out on one of the "Windows is calling us about an infection on your laptop" calls that they don't understand Spanish. So I'm making a list of Spanish, German and the whole two words in Korean I know to use randomly in conversations with them.

You might consider using a few Klingon words to further confuse them.

[Tama]

Qa'Hom! Petaq!

("Small thing or animal trying to be impressive" and "traitor or garbage")

QI'yaH!

(A foul expression that according to the website defies translation)

[MoonCat]

Cia, the guy who called me started out that way, too. "This message is for you." No shit, I thought it was for the lady next door!

[Kitten in the box]

Wow, way to put yourself and your company in jeopardy Mr. Foster. Impersonating a government agent is a pretty big no no. You should have saved the voicemail and turned it into the IRS

Edit to add : Just googled it, apparently this is a scam that's been going around for a while. Some scam artists in India are behind it

true. i got a call similar to that and then they threatened me with prosecution. funny thing is, i did my taxes and they all were good to go. so i laughed and said "give it all you got. i ain't payin' shit." their response?

"FUCK YOU!" and slams the phone down. real professional huh?

[Jester]

Why don't I ever get any of these calls when I'm not working and can't answer my cell? Better yet, why don't I ever get any of these calls when I'm drinking? Oh, the fun I could have with these idiots.....

[Cia]

Got called three times on my cellphone where the number is listed as 'Unavailable'. Ignored it the first time, answered the second time by staring at the counter for 2 seconds before snapping it shut and the third time I had fun.

Me: Ann-yeong (hello/good-bye in Korean)
Moron scammer: Uh, hello?
Me: Ann-yeong
MS: Hello do you speak English?
Me: (silently giggling) Ann-yeong
MS: Do you speak English?
Me: -snap- the sound of my phone being snapped shut

[MoonCat]

so i laughed and said "give it all you got. i ain't payin' shit." their response?

"FUCK YOU!" and slams the phone down

I love it!