By Cole Lauterbach/Illinois Radio Network
CHICAGO – A new round of sophisticated phone scams in Illinois threatens to turn potential victims over to law enforcement.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about automated calls from someone claiming to be with the Internal Revenue Service. The call threatens to send law enforcement out to arrest the victim for owing money to the government and that they must call a seemingly local number to resolve it. The fake agent can then give a phony badge number or even give the caller the last four digits of their Social Security number to convince the caller that they’re authentic.
“One of the easiest ways to spot a scam call is when the first thing they say is, ‘we’re going to arrest you,’” IRS Spokesman Michael Devine said. “That’s not how the IRS works.”
The IRS doesn’t work with local law enforcement in that manner.
It also doesn’t take Amazon gift cards.
“They want the money either by prepaid gift card or by wire transfer,” Devine said, adding that the IRS will make first contact by mail.
The sheriff’s office and IRS offer the following tips to avoid becoming a phone scam victim:
Never give personal information, such as Social Security or bank account numbers, over the phone.
Legitimate IRS agents and law enforcement agencies do not ask that payments be made via pre-paid debit cards.
In some cases, the phone numbers may appear to be from legitimate agencies due to phone number spoofing applications. If this is the case, call that agency to determine if there is a legitimate reason to contact you. Do not use the phone number the caller gives you.
Devine said the calls will often move from one area code to the next so that the callback number looks to be coming from nearby. His advice: just hang up.
