213-289-3839

Has anyone had a call from 213-289-3839 and why they're calling you?

I got a message from this number and it said it was Max at legal affairs, blah blah blah.  Seemed shady to me.  Didn't give a last name, didn't leave the company or law firm name.

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

recieved a call from 2132893839 today 12-17

I receiced a call from Tracy (no last name) from the Dept of Legal Affairs (no company name). Told to call back with a rather confusing message threatening legal action. Indian accent with poor english. 12/17

I just received call from "department of Legal Affairs" someone named Max, India i think.
Said I was in legal trouble if I did not return call.
Sounds like a scam to me. 12/18

I just got a call from a guy with an Indian accent who said he was with the Dept of Legal Affairs of the US Treasury.  He said a legal action had been set up against me.  I asked for the case # but he said he was not allowed to give me any info.  He referred me to 213-289-3839 and ask for David Williams.  I am ignoring his request of course.

Got a call today and dude said that I also had a case being opened against my name for a legal action. I asked him "what?", and he said it was urgent that I take action before the case was opened against my name.  I didn't have my coffee yet, so I just told him he had to be joking and was crazy because any 'action' against me would have been sent in writing and that he doesn't even have a US accent.   To my knowledge the US government does not hire people from other countries to call citizens to notify people of pending legal actions.  I hung up, but really, when is the US going to realize that allowing companies to put all it's citizen's contact information on the internet is a national threat?

This number is a scam. This week alone i have had three clients give me a number and say someone from the justice department called and threatened them. I returned calls to all three numbers and each time was hung up on or cursed out by a man with a heavy accent. THIS IS NOTHING MORE THAN A SCAM.

We got the same message. I also got a similar message with a bad connection from 213-289-3839. Thank you all for posting this information.

I receiced a call from Tracy Moore from the Dept of Legal Affairs. Told to call back with a rather confusing message threatening legal action. Indian accent with poor english. 1/7/14

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is warning consumers to be on the alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. It may be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and a fake one. Sometimes a fake collector may even have some of your personal information, like a bank account number. A caller may be a fake debt collector if he:

•is seeking payment on a debt for a loan you do not recognize;
•refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number;
•asks you for personal financial or sensitive information; or
•exerts high pressure to try to scare you into paying, such as threatening to have you arrested or to report you to a law enforcement agency.

If you think that a caller may be a fake debt collector:

•Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If a caller refuses to give you all of this information, do not pay! Paying a fake debt collector will not always make them go away. They may make up another debt to try to get more money from you.•Stop speaking with the caller. If you have the caller's address, send a letter demanding that the caller stop contacting you, and keep a copy for your files. By law, real debt collectors must stop calling you if you ask them to in writing.
•Do not give the caller personal financial or other sensitive information. Never give out or confirm personal financial or other sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number unless you know whom you're dealing with. Scam artists, like fake debt collectors, can use your information to commit identity theft – charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.
•Contact your creditor. If the debt is legitimate – but you think the collector may not be – contact your creditor about the calls. Share the information you have about the suspicious calls and find out who, if anyone, the creditor has authorized to collect the debt.
•Report the call. Contact the FTC and your state Attorney General's office with information about suspicious callers. Many states have their own debt collection laws in addition to the federal FDCPA. Your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights under your state's law.

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors

I received a call this am, they left a VM.  It was from 213-289-3839 saying they were with the "Dept. of Legal Services" and that I had an outstanding action against me that required immediate action.   I called the no. back and they told me they were with the US Treasury Dept., when they asked me for my name I told them I was returning a call from "Tracy" and I would not give them further info until I spoke with the person that called me....they hung up.  I called back, the same guy (with an Indian accent) answered and I said we must have gotten disconnected - he hung up again!   I called again and David answered, he told me he was with the IRS, when I asked for more information such as which department, he tried to wiggle around a reply.  I then told him I reported this number to the authorities he hung up!