SCAMMERS ARE CALLING PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY SENIORS, ON THE PHONE. THEY SAY THINGS LIKE:
“This is the IRS. You have been charged with tax evasion, and you will be arrested immediately if you don’t clear this up. Send us $$$ for bail so you won’t get arrested.”
These are scammers who pretend to be the IRS, saying you owe money, and need to pay immediately to avoid being incarcerated, etc. DO NOT fall for their scam. Best way to handle this situation is to hang up and report them to your local District Attorney’s Office and call your local IRS department and inquire about it yourself.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE IRS NEVER CALLS YOU, THEY COMMUNICATE VIA USPS MAIL! So call, or better yet visit your local IRS office if you need to update or pay your taxes.
Other similar scams will sound like:
“This is your grandson, I’ve been arrested, I’m hurt, please bail me out and don’t tell my parents. Send me money.”
OR
“This is Superior Court, you failed to show up for jury duty. This is a very serious matter. There is a warrant out for your arrest. Pay $3000 for bail to stop your arrest.”
OR
“You have won a prize or award. Use a Green Dot card to send us $$ to claim your prize.”
Green Dot cards (and other types of cash cards) are cards that you can buy in order to transfer money. You can buy a Green Dot card for a certain amount, it works like a gift card. There are numbers on the card. Anyone who knows those numbers can get the cash that’s on the card. The scammers tell the elders to go to a business that sells Green Dot cards, pay cash for a card, call the scammer back, and tell them the numbers on the card.
If someone calls or emails you saying anything like these statements, and tells you to send money, DON’T!! IT IS A SCAM!!!!! Call the Santa Clara County’s District Attorney’s Office at (408) 792-2880; (408) 792-2525 immediately.