Dangerous New Trend in IRS Scams

Pindrop has been aroud for a few years :

https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-827-3752
'Jeff' said on 18 Mar 2012
" In the second half of 2011, Pindrop Security detected more than 1 million fraudulent calls, including 189,439 in December, a 52 percent surge from July, according to a report released last week. "

https://800notes.com/forum/ta-ab1745f5e93e020 ... -189-00-dollars
'JustTheFACTS' said on 12 Sep 2014
" Pindrop has investigated the attacks and, among other things, we have successfully posed as a victim and recorded the call. "

https://800notes.com/forum/ta-cba8d5e69095d12 ... do-in-usa-today
800notes recommended by Kim Komando in USA Today
( Kim Komando's source is Pindrop )

https://800notes.com/forum/ta-da651b07980efd9 ... her-information
'BigA' began the thread on 6 Jan 2016 with a link to an article on Yahoo which is really from Consumer Reports, which he quotes.
The article mentions Pindrop.

If they call you again, ask them where they are calling from and then tell them you work for the IRS also in that same building. Ask them who their supervisor is and they will hang up. Works all the time.

The untraceable calls thru voip is not true.
The scammer sets up voip thru a telecommunications seller in USA.  When that setup happens, the IP address is recorded in order to be able to get these services.  All the phone numbers provided to these voip users are in the telecommunication data base.  When you get a call from one of these numbers, the telecommunications provider will come up.  Then you take that number with the exact time and date to the TC company, they can trace the call to the IP address and then should promptly shut down that service and blacklist that computer.  The blacklisting would have to be computer to computer, but how many computers can these scammers buy or keep changing there IP?
But at this point, i feel that VOIP should just outlawed.  Nothing good has come of it.

Services like Magic Jack provide a little electronic box that can be plugged into ANY Ethernet port that is connected to the Internet. No computer needed at all. The IP address isn't fixed. And Magic Jack has an an app for smartphones that allow the account holder (who has purchased the box and whose account is still activated) to use a smartphone to make calls over WiFi without having to use the little box.

If Magic Jack cancels the account due to abuse, the scammer simply buys another box and starts over.

VOIP is not going to be outlawed. It is just a subset of the Internet Protocol, for handling data packets that contain audio, with as little latency as possible. The Internet was originally not designed for purposes that require low latency, such are voice communications, live video, etc.

AT&T is moving all of its telecommunications to VOIP.

And some low-budget scammers use burner phones. They can buy a phone for a few dollars, a 30-day unlimited calls-and-texts card for less than fifty dollars, and activate it over at a payphone, and the cellular provider has no idea who is using the phone. The scammer simply discards the phone if it gets cut off or they think law enforcement is closing in, and get another burner phone.

That's why it is sometimes difficult for law enforcement to find the perpetrators of swatting calls. The trail vanishes.

This is old as dirt, there was a time you could find phone booths all over the place, several on one block. There were numerous instances where police, fire and rescue was called in specifically to redirect resources, block streets or delay legit response - back in like 1975. We never fixed what was wrong and made it worse with 911 cell phones (all cells regardless of age and carrier will always be able to call 911) and VoIP. A business I was managing had a broken alarm system that called PD directly, one day I walked out of the front door straight into a SWAT team. That was 1987. This stuff isn't new, but it is freakishly sad that cops STILL deploy these kinds of resources without visual verification - cops ARE trained to kill first and ask questions later - this kind of activity is gonna get someone killed...

A few years ago there was something called "slamming" whereby merely talking to the scammer could result in switching your carriers. I missed my mother's final call from her deathbed because I ignore and/or block any number I don't recognize, but I have never and will never be scammed by these sediments. SWAT'ed though, THAT is different and it behooves EVERYONE to contact their local PD to find out what their policy is so you know to answer your door with your hands UP, get out of bed with your hands UP, move from room to room within your house with your HANDS UP - etc...

" ... all cells regardless of age and carrier will always be able to call 911 ..."

Not true. Analog phones that were common in 2000 cannot connect to any cell tower.
I have kept my Nokia 252 and keep trying ... nostalgia. I liked that phone.

I've read many of your thoughts on this topic, very interesting one at that. I've always thought how the "heck" can anyone fall for these scams? Apparently you can,  possibly because you truly lied or cheated on your taxes, or never filed at all? Guilty consciences will have you do almost anything. Good luck all! By the way, I also received the same phone call and it really made me think about how much in charitable donations did I accurately put down? Hmmmm...

People can and do fall for this scam - not because they've lied or cheated or failed to file taxes - rather it's like the effect a police siren/blue lights has on you when you're driving.  You automatically slow down and think, "Was I speeding or did I do something wrong?" even if you haven't.  And you feel that way up until the point the cop car passes you and you realize they're after someone else or on the way to an accident.

Exactly, Els! It's a cross between habit and uneducated/smarts to the scams. Many of us have been there before whether it be a debt collector or another type of scam.
What many don't realize is THEY received your name from somewhere that can be totally untied/associated with any entity one has done business with before. THEY buy or steal the info. THEY know YOU where as you haven't a clue. These criminals have the upper hand because they have a plan where as when you receive the call, it's all new to you!
Once educated on it you're smart to it and can catch a scammer within the first couple of words, that is if you answer the unrecognizable number.

Exactly E!
Happened to me about a month ago while in Cali. A black SUV was tailgating me (one of my pet peeves) so I slowed down, kept saying "wish he would get off my butt"! Then the lights came on, "oh crap!" I pull over and he whizzes right by us. He was on his way to a fire just up the road. Whew, but i was scared when those lights came on :)

The elderly fall for it most of all. They are usually the ones who get nailed. They are not accustom to these scams. They come from a different day and age where it was much more simple. Now they are in an age where technology advances ten fold and the times change with it. They are constantly struggling to catch up. My elderly mother and step father have checked with me about numerous scam phone calls.
The REAL point is, just because you are not smart to the scams or educated on what's been going on, does not mean you were proverbially "speeding" or "cheated on your taxes". That's hogwash. Just because one falls for it has nothing to do with being guilty in the first place. Your "point" is rubbish and shallow.