415-506-2511

Man claims to be from IRS regarding tax issue that could lead to "legal action.". Says that you must call 415 506 2511 and talk to a "Kevin Petersen.".

Just as area code 876 (Jamaica) has become the "Publishers Clearing House scam" capital of the world, area code 415 is quickly becoming the "IRS scam" capital of the world.

I would ignore any calls coming from this number.  It's a magicJack number.  Unless, of course, you actually believe that IRS agents would use magicJacks to call you.

How can you find out if a number is a Magic Jack number?

>>> How can you find out if a number is a Magic Jack number? <<<

Two ways.  One is a bit more complicated than the other.

(1)  The easy way.  Go to http://www.phonevalidator.com and you will see two entry boxes for you to fill in.  Fill in the phone number in the first, bigger box and the "validation code" that appears in the picture in the box below that.  (The verification code is just there to make sure that bots don't overwhelm their system.)  Then click on the "Search" button under the verification box.

When you do that, you will get a results page next.  If it is a magicJack number, the phone company shown on the results page will say, "YMAX CORP -- POSSIBLE MAGICJACK VOIP".

(YMAX is the company that owns magicJack.  See http://www.ymaxcorp.com )

(2) The more complicated way.  Go to http://www.localcallingguide.com .  Under the heading "Search," find "Search Area Code/Prefix/OCN" and click on the term "Area Code/Prefix/OCN".  That will bring up a form in which to enter parts of the phone number.

When the form is displayed on the screen, just enter the area code in the entry field named "NPA" and the next three digits of the phone number (the exchange, or rate center) into the entry field named "NXX".  You can leave the rest of the form blank.  ( If you want, you can enter the next digit of the phone number -- the one immediately following the exchange -- in the field named "Block".  This usually gives you the answer directly.  But I have found that doing so does not always work if all ten of the possible blocks in the rate center are assigned to the same carrier.)  

After you have entered NPA and NXX (and optionally, Block), click on the "Submit" button.  That will bring up a table of providers.  Search down the "Block" column until you find the digit that matches the first digit of the phone number following the exchange.  If that row says "YMAX COMMUNICATIONS CORP." under the column headed "OCN", it is a magicJack number.

Precautionary and explanatory notes:

You may want or need to read more about http://www.localcallingguide.com because there are a few quirks involved in interpreting and even sometimes just finding the results, and you can learn a lot more about the phone system by playing around there.

Also, note that http://www.phonevalidator.com sometimes says that a particular number is a "possible" Skype, Google Voice number, etc.  I don't think you can rely on those statements, because the actual company it cites in such cases often also provides phone numbers to other phone companies, too, including those that provide business lines, presumably including legitimate businesses.

In addition, numbers can be ported both into and out of a company.  For example, you can import a Sprint mobile phone number to Google Voice and vice versa.  In these cases, your search results may be inaccurate.  But, to the best I can determine, porting of numbers into or out of a magicJack just doesn't make much sense for a business.  It's not that porting a number in either direction can't be done, but rather that magicJack has either made it expensive or impractical to reliably do it, or it may be expensive or impractical for a business to do it for other reasons.  So I think that you can put very high confidence in assuming that virtually all phone numbers in YMAX blocks are, in fact, magicJack numbers.

Another indication that may help confirm a magicJack number is that there are a relatively small number of complaints about individual numbers -- indicative of a small-time scammer who is doing this on his own -- and that the reports cover a relatively short period of time, i.e., a year or less.  That's because they would have to renew their subscription to magicJack and presumably provide credit card information.  Because of the way magicJacks are marketed, it's probably cheaper and easier just to buy a new one from a store and sign up for a different number.  It's also harder to trace you down if you do that.

Also, magicJacks use a proprietary protocol.  You need one of their devices to decode the Internet signals to telephone signals that your phone can understand.  That makes it hard to connect a PBX to a magicJack line, which line itself probably is severely limited in the number of simultaneous calls that can be active.  Thus, the volume of calls that could be made is probably about the same as an individual prankster could make, and the total number of complaints would reflect that level of calling, not the level that might be expected from a foreign boiler room operation.

lot of these VIOP numbers seem to cone back to "Level 3 Communications."

>>> lot of these VIOP numbers seem to cone back to "Level 3 Communications." <<<

This one doesn't.  It's a magicJack number.

On the other hand, Level 3 Communications is a big established company founded in 1985.  According to Wikipedia, it is the largest competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) in the United States.  So it's no surprise that a lot of people and big companies would use them for telephone service.

Got a call from woman with very heavy Indian accent couldn't understand a word other than IRS call and issue

2/14/14 @ 7:30 am-Yes, I got phone call from this number. Told me that I owe to IRS $ 8000.00. I have to pay him by voucher which I have to get from Walmart using my debit card. On my phone showed that this call from San Francisco, CA. He is threating me that I will go to jail, lost my driving license etc. Then I check the number on Google. This number showed in google as scam phone number. I realized before checking in google that it is scam. Any way thanks google for the info. I hope police or some other department can looked at this phone owner and brought him in justice and save innocent people from this kind of problem.

Also talk to my wife. My wife told me they are indian. They are male and female are doing  this.

Got a call couple of times. Said was calling from IRS and if the call was not returned there would be legal accent. I did let it go to my voice mail.

Again, the caller is an Indian and speaks Hindi and claims that his name is Kevin Peterson and is from IRS and says that we owe IRS money. this is a scam. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to report this scam to IRS. I have tried to call the number listed on IRS site (it is easier if you get a fax or email but phone calls are not that easy to report).

ANonieMouse,

Wow!

Thanks for that detailed explanation about the strategies you use to track the origin of a phone number.  This information will be really helpful to me in the future!  I have saved it for future reference.

I did this morning 2/17/14, a voice mail message at 9:30AM central time. A lady with young voice and Indian accent called me claiming she is from IRS and I should call 415-506-2511. Her language was poor and I couldn't make out clearly what she said.

I got a call on 2/17/14 at 11:50 am. Someone named James Washington from the IRS left a message for me to call him back at 415-506-2511. I can barely understand the message due to the poor English. When I called back, I got hung up. IRS is not open on President's Day. It is for sure a scam!

we just received call from them.  they are punjabi's or Indian's.  we also recd called from area code 202.  they are scam.  call ftc and file a complain.

yes, i received a phone call from this number on 2-13-14. Some woman said that they were calling from the IRS, leaving me a message. i called back and they claimed that i owe $3,000, and that if i paid $2,000 today i wouldn't be sent to jail. Thank you for your inputs.

I too received a call on 2/17/14, with a voice mail message . A lady with heavy Indian accent left the message claiming she is from IRS and I should call 415-506-2511 with threatening consequences. Wonder what it takes to put them out of business and preferably deportation.  Calling in the name of a US Govt. agaency with the view to scam is probably outright criminal.

The [***] called me to in Alabama

Received a call from this # (Man with a deep Russian/Eastern European accent) claiming to be Officer Jones with the IRS. Got very defensive when I questioned why he was calling from California at 4:00AM Pacific and the number did not identify as IRS. He said he was calling from IRS headquarters, but  I pointed out that IRS is Headquarters is in Washington DC, He said that he did not say that. So, I just ended the call because I knew he was being less than honest.

2/17/2014 I received a call from "Peter Johnson" claiming to be from the IRS.  He wanted to put me in jail, revoke my license, cease my assets unless I paid 6,545 today using tax vouchers from Wal Mart or 7-Eleven. He insisted on me wtihdrawing cash from the my bank and buy these "vouchers" and scratch the back of the voucher and read them the voucher number.  This is a scam.  Please be alert.  The IRS don't call you 6:00Am and don't threaten to put you in jail with out due deligence.  Please be aware.