206-497-7867

Got a call from this number. The man introduced himself as Mark Brown and he is calling from IRS. I have to be home, because police will come and arrest me for some Income Taxes fraud.

A guy called with an accent claiming to be with IRS and threatened deportation from the country unless my wife, who has roots going back to before Civil War returns his call immediately. And that LAW ENFORCEMENT FEDERAL, that's exactly how he said it, will come to arrest her.

This is some coward hiding behind a magicJack device plugged in at some God-forsaken corner of the world where there is Internet service.  He's no better than a common criminal using a magicJack device and your fear the same way a common thief uses a toy pistol hidden in the pocket of his overcoat to make a bulge that looks like a real gun.

You can verify that this is a magicJack number by searching for it at http://www.phonevalidator.com .

This scam has been extensively researched at
http://www.pindropsecurity.com/consumer-fraud ... irs-phone-scam/ and it was found that magicJack numbers are frequently used, and many of the scammers are operating out of India.  There is even an audio recording of a call returned to one of these numbers and a written transcript of the recording contained in links from the Pindrop Security blog.

MagicJacks are readily obtainable outside of the United States for about $100 US and can come with up to a year of free calling to the U.S. and Canada.  In India, see, for example,
http://magicjack.in .

In addition to the regular reporting channels, e.g., the Department of the Treasury, the FTC, and/or your local state attorney general's office, you might also report the abuse to YMAX Corp.  I have seen reports that they are pretty good at responding to complaints and may be able to permanently shut off a magicJack device, if necessary, so that it can never be used again.

The YMAX Corp. main web page is at:
http://www.ymaxcorp.com
and their site giving information on how to lodge a complaint is at:
http://www.ymaxcorp.com/contact.html

Note that the "contact" website gives a clickable link to a "live chat" where you can make your complaint.

My 17-year old daughter, a high school student, was informed by "Mike Brown, IRS investigator" that there's a warrant for her arrest. Evidently, she committed some major tax fraud. We're packing bags and running off to Venezuela.

Hi

I also got a call from this number few days ago. A guy with Asian accent said he wanted to speak to me.  He told me that there is an arrest warrant for me.  I cursed at him and hung up.  

number 727-302-1145 a magicjack user on a IRS phone scam.

I got a call from this number. The man introduced himself as Mark Brown and he is calling from IRS. I have to contact my attorney about taxes fraud.  The Police will come and arrest me soon.

Got a call for this number asking for me and asked me if I knew what IRS was...I said Indian Rear Services and the man went crazy...LOL

These guys are operating out of India it seems like..
Mark Brown is actually a funny guy and now I only conversate with him in Hindi.
They are big time scammers. I got a call from Mark (likely Ramdev Thilinarasaugautamvillira) saying I owe money..
I told him I am on food stamps and cannot afford right now and told him to try me back in 2015.

He has now changed his name to Tony Ferreira. Being woken by an IRS call at 6:30am was pretty annoying. Though I instantly knew this was a fraud call as he had left some messages for me a few months ago and I had searched online before. Is there nothing we can do about this? Though I rarely pick up my home number, it's just annoying to get calls from him every few weeks, and I am guessing he must have tricked some naive folks.

This is a scam they called me too same thing for IRS fraud and that I will get arrested. I was like Okay come arrest me. Its obvious that this is a scam.

Got this call today. The guy has very strong accent that I could barely understood and claimed his name was Ahmed. The message on this number also claimed to be Mark Brown, IRS Investigator. Thanks for all your information. I am glad I googled before I panic and call my CPA.

I got a call yesterday from 206-497-7867 saying they were the IRS.  I didn't take the call but it went to vm.  They said I needed to call them back urgently and if I didn't the IRS would soon be at my door.  

Same as all the other posts. The call was left on my vm 6/24/14 by John Smith. I returned call, answered by vm & instructed to leave msg for Mark Brown. John Smith called me back. I wouldn't confirm that I was person he ask for nor my address. I asked him some questions that he couldnt answer so, he went on to threaten me w/police coming to my hm. I told him good because, I was going to give them him name & # when they get to my hm. Of course, they never came.

Got a call from this number today. A guy with a heavy accent said unless I paid the IRS today the police would be at my door in 30 minutes.  What a scam!

Yep, that's the same thing I did.

I got a call from the individual saying there is a very serious allegation against me and my physical address regarding my income taxes. He asked me if I knew what the IRS was for, and that he was an IRS investigator. He told me I need to pay the penalty or have the local police arrest me. Little did he know that I am an LE  myself, so I told him to have the local police arrest me, and he got mad. He seems to have a very strong Indian/Pakistani accent. It is a very cheap scam, and if they are operating from the United States, then they will eventually be caught. But  I doubt they are in the country. Please don't fall for it. Pass the word. O by the way, the caller was using the name John Smith. LMAO

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today warned consumers about a sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, throughout the country.

Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting.

“This scam has hit taxpayers in nearly every state in the country.  We want to educate taxpayers so they can help protect themselves.  Rest assured, we do not and will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone, nor request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer,” says IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel. “If someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from the IRS and threatens police arrest, deportation or license revocation if you don’t pay immediately, that is a sign that it really isn’t the IRS calling.” Werfel noted that the first IRS contact with taxpayers on a tax issue is likely to occur via mail
Other characteristics of this scam include:
Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.
Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security Number.
Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it’s the IRS calling.
Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls.
Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.
After threatening victims with jail time or driver’s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim.
If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here’s what you should do:
If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue – if there really is such an issue.
If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you’ve never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats as described above), then call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1.800.366.4484.
If you’ve been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov.  Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" to the comments of your complaint.
Taxpayers should be aware that there are other unrelated scams (such as a lottery sweepstakes) and solicitations (such as debt relief) that fraudulently claim to be from the IRS.
The IRS encourages taxpayers to be vigilant against phone and email scams that use the IRS as a lure. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information.  This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels. The IRS also does not ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts. Recipients should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, forward the e-mail to phishing@irs.gov.

More information on how to report phishing scams involving the IRS is available on the genuine IRS website, IRS.gov.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Warns-of-Pervasive-Telephone-Scam

This is a Pakistan or India based IRS scam. Do not fall for this.
Read http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/press/press_tigta-2014-03.htm
The IRS does not initiate any legal action via phone. The scammers use voice over IP lines (e.g. magicjack (Ymax corporation)) to make it seem as if they were calling from the US. This is always against these companys' terms of use and can lead to termination of their contract. However only law enforcement can initiate the contact if you yourself are not a customer. Therefore, report it also to your local law enforcement agency. Ultimately this is a case for the FBI legal attache in Islamabad or New Delhi. If you are really annoyed: call or write to your representative in Congress. As these scams happen all over the country maybe this will trigger a reaction (and the NSA can finally be a force for good).

You can use the following template for your letter or email:

Senators
Use the district office address of your senator as displayed on http://www.senate.gov/ 
Your letter should be addressed as follows:
The Honorable (full name)
United States Senate
Mailing Address of District Office
City, State, Zip Code

Representatives (House)
Use the district office address of your district representative as displayed on
http://www.house.gov/
Your letter should be addressed as follows:
The Honorable (full name)
United States House of Representatives
Mailing Address of District Office
City, State, Zip Code

Dear Senator/Representative XXX

As your constituent, I am writing to urge you to demand decisive action from the FBI, the IRS and other federal agencies against organized crime directed against American citizens from abroad.

As widely reported by local and national media all across the United States and warned about by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (see http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/press/press_tigta-2014-03.htm) a tidal wave of fraud using Internet phones has hit the United States. Millions of dollars already have been stolen by criminals impersonating federal officers while hiding in countries like India and Pakistan, where most of the calls originate. There seems to be no end of it in sight.

I have personally been targeted by these scammers but it is the most vulnerable among us that I am concerned about primarily. The scheme is specifically singling out those that can least defend themselves against these crimes, in particular the elderly. I am also worried that given the origin of these gangsters, the money stolen from US citizens may be used for financing of terrorism or other activities directed against the national interests of the United States. But in spite of this clear and present danger to our country and its citizens I have seen no action worth mentioning by the FBI, the IRS or other federal agencies so far.

As a member of Congress overseeing the law enforcement agencies tasked with fighting fraud and ensuring national security, I implore you to make sure that they act on these threats and are given all the necessary resources to target these criminals in cooperation with foreign law enforcement.

Yours sincerely

Got a call from a heavily accented individual who claimed to be from the IRS threatening arrest if my husband did not call back,.  When challenged he called his 'supervisor' who also had an accent but whose English was a lot clearer.  As I argued with him I realized he didn't really know what he was talking about and that this was a scam.  His name is Mark Brown and he was calling from 206-497-7867. I'm glad I Googled this number, it confirmed my suspicions.