Posted on 07/24/2018 10:07:06 AM PDT by Simon Green
With stiff sentences for 21 conspirators last week in the United States and a round of indictments in India, the Justice Department says it has broken up what appeared to be the nation’s first large-scale, multinational telephone fraud operation.
Over four years, more than 15,000 victims in the United States lost “hundreds of millions” of dollars to the sophisticated scam, and more than 50,000 individuals had their personal information misused, the department said Friday. The money was routed through call centers in India back to the ringleaders in eight states.
The fraudulent calls came suddenly and frequently while the scam was active from 2012 to 2016, according to court documents. A person posing as an Internal Revenue Service or immigration official was on the phone, threatening arrest, deportation or other penalties if the victims did not immediately pay their debts with prepaid cards or wire transfers.
The calls targeted the most vulnerable Americans, including immigrants and older people.
An 85-year old woman in San Diego paid $12,300 to people claiming to be I.R.S. employees who threatened her with arrest for tax violations.
A Chicago man paid $5,070 after being threatened with arrest and deportation by supposed state police and immigration authorities, the indictment said.
The words “U.S. Government” showed up as the caller I.D. on a number from which a New Hampshire woman was told to pay the I.R.S. $3,980 in payment cards, the court papers said.
In the announcement on Friday, the department said 21 people living in eight states — Illinois, Arizona, Florida, California, Alabama, Indiana, New Jersey and Texas — were sentenced last week in Houston to prison for up to 20 years for their role in the scheme.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The IRS can’t stand the competition!
Yes indeed. Although a 20 year sentence is too little.
I live in Florida, and I used to get these calls all the time and wonder, as I hung up, who would ever fall for them. Well, a lot of very simple, vulnerable people did, and frankly I think these scammers should spend the rest of their lives in jail.
About damn time. I know a few people that got hit with this, and they all panicked.
That being said, “a fool and his money are soon parted.”
These people should be executed as terrorists, because that’s what they are.
We got several calls from these miscreants.....................
Naw, that would be all those "tech support" call centers in India...
Excellent. Now on to the Microsoft phone scammers.
My Mom is one of them, until my brothers, sisters and I FORCED her to get an unlisted number!
Dot Indians from India
I have received many calls. There is an arrest warrant out for me right now from the IRS. I’m in the bunker hiding from them.......
If you go to the Walgreens there is a sign right on the door.... STOP If you are here to buy gift cards to pay a bill..turn around.
A jail sentence for the perps is NOT enough.
The money should be traceable.
12K deposits to banks are reportable to the IRS, so there must be some kind of paper trail to follow.
I have to keep telling my dad that no one one the phone needs money immediately, no one needs cash or a prepaid card and no one needs your checking account number over the phone. If there is any doubt then call me. I despise scum like this harming the elderly.
“The fraudulent calls came suddenly and frequently while the scam was active from 2012 to 2016, according to court documents. A person posing as an Internal Revenue Service or immigration official was on the phone, threatening arrest, deportation or other penalties if the victims did not immediately pay their debts with prepaid cards or wire transfers.”
What I want to know is when are they going to put the “credit card” scam artists out of business. We can’t even answer our land line, because of these ba$tards. I usually let the phone go to VM, but I just answered it and waited for someone to come on the line so I could let them know “how I feel.” Can’t print what I told them.
20 years is too good for them.
I got several of those calls.
I certainly hope we can quickly replace these "immigrants" with other immigrants who just want to do the jobs Americans won't do.
Except they called me repeatedly this year. When you go on line to report it the treasury seems only interested if you lost money.
Is there a Walgreens gift card scam?
I’ve gotten several such calls. I also get a lot of calls warning me that my computer is infected with a virus and that I need to give the caller information as to how to access my computer so he can fix it. The caller always has a Middle Eastern or subcontinental accent.
I guess I am getting cranky in my old age. They should have been taken out behind the court house and shot!
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