202-506-9775

Left a message on my answering machine, apparently computer generated, ostensibly from the IRS. I'm almost certain the Internal Revenue Service does not contact people that way.

There is a fairly common IRS or "tax scam" being practiced by scammers in both Canada and the USA.
USA tax payers should read this:
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Reiterate ... -Telephone-Scam

Short answer:
The IRS never initiates a contact via phone.
They always send a snailmail first.

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 that they are 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

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

Came home from work and found a message on my answering machine:

"The very second you receive this message, I need you or your retained attorney, to return the call. The issue at hand is extremely time-sensitive. I am officer Heather Gray from Internal Revenue Service and the hotline to my position is 202-506-9775. I repeat, it's 202-506-9775. Don't disregard this message and do return the call before we take any legal allegation against you.  Good bye and  take care."

What a complete crock of excrement. These scammers should be hunted down and hung from their toes over a nice gator-filled swamp.

I just got the same message.  The first tip that it was fake was the poor use of English i.e. " . . . take any legal allegation. . ." What!?!!   What a joke.

CALLER STATED HER NAME IS HEATHER FROM THE IRS CALL IS COMPUTER GENERATED. MESSAGE LEFT WAS  "DO NOT IGNORE THIS CALL BEFORE LEGAL ACTION IS TAKEN CALL 202-506-9775" PEOPLE SHOULD GET A LIFE WHAT A SCAM.

These calls are not coming from the IRS or anywhere else in the US government.

They are coming from cowardly criminals hiding behind a magicJack device plugged in at some God-forsaken corner of the world where there is Internet service.  They simply use a magicJack device and try to use your fear of the IRS and the federal government 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 .

The IRS phone scam, in particular, 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.

More recently, there has actually been a widespread resurgence of the IRS scam across multiple states, including California, Idaho, and Pennsylvania. Additionally, USTelecom, a trade association, warned consumers about an increase in Caller ID spoofing.  See:
http://www.pindropsecurity.com/july-18-2014-the-week-in-phone-fraud/

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 as well as a free US-based phone number.  In India, see, for example,
http://magicjack.in .
If the scammer wants to make the call look as though it comes from the IRS or the federal government, he will choose a 202 (Washington, DC) area code number assigned by YMAX Corporation.  If the scammer is ignorant, he will choose a 206 (Washington State) area code telephone number because he won't know the difference between the seat of the federal government and the state of Washington -- they both are "Washington," right?  Sometimes they will choose an entirely different area code for reasons known only to the scammer.

It doesn't take long to turn a profit on scams such as this even if only 1 or 2% of the people they call are fooled into sending a few thousand dollars to the scammers.

Here's a recent example of an IRS phone scam that was stopped by an alert clerk, and some advise from the South San Francisco, CA police about these scams:
http://pacifica.patch.com/groups/police-and-f ... -francisco53309
And here's yet another instance in Florida of this type of scam coming from India using US telephone numbers:
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/25971726/phone-sca ... ey#.U8GKEGK9KSM

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.  This corporation is a fully-owned subsidiary of the company that sells magicJacks and is in charge of assigning telephone numbers to magicJack devices.  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 for YMAX Corporation gives a clickable link to a "live chat" where you can make your complaint.

yup...got one today in California...same crap...Arabic  accent...with a Hispanic name...only they did not pronounce the last name as ANY Hispanic would have...they had me going for about an hr...till my tax accountant informed me of the scam...BEWARE...!!!

See:  http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Reiterate ... -Telephone-Scam

Computer generated message saying this call is extremely sensitive, call this number before the IRS takes legal action against me

I just got a call from this same number and decided it sounded strange so I hit record. He went through a whole speel about how I owed the IRS money from 2008 and 2010, I was going to be arrested and my home would be taken. When I questioned why would just I and not my husband be in trouble he replied it was my taxes, I said funny because I don't work they are my husbands. He then proceeded to tell me to f%#* myself, called me a 2 bit [***] and my husband was unlucky to have a [***] like me. I called the local police and was told it is happening everywhere, I knew it couldn't be real especially when he said the IRS doesn't mail things and of course once he started swearing at me.