Vancouver police are warning of a phone scam in which callers claiming to be Internal Revenue Service agents dupe people into giving them cash cards.
The Vancouver Police Department took a report Tuesday from someone who lost $20,890 through the scam.
How it works is the scam artist calls someone claiming to be the IRS, and says the person owes money and will be arrested if the bill goes unpaid. The scammer uses a spoofed phone number, so it actually appears on caller ID that the call could be coming from the IRS.
In Vancouver, victims have purchased prepaid credit cards and provided the pin numbers to the scammers, giving them access to the money. The Clark County sheriff’s office has gotten reports of similar fraudulent calls.
Police recommend that if people get this kind of call, they hang up and call their local IRS office to inquire about any payment problems. The IRS doesn’t ask for financial information over the phone and doesn’t insist that taxpayers use a specific payment method to pay taxes.
Normally, taxpayers receive prior notification of enforcement action involving IRS liens or levies. Agents don’t request immediate payment over the phone and won’t take enforcement action right after a phone conversation.
Earlier in September, a Vancouver resident lost more than $10,000 after someone called them with a spoofed number, claimed to be with the police department and demanded payment.
“Catching the actual perpetrators can be really difficult,” Kapp said. Scam artists are often overseas, so if someone loses their money it’s almost certain the victim won’t get it back.
