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Here at the FTC, we think about scams all day long. What are the scammers’ new angles? How can we keep ahead of them? We hear from people about the scams they see, and we turn that into tips people use to spot and avoid scams.

But scammers find FTC staff, just as they find the rest of America. My colleagues and I have even gotten calls on our work phones, offering reduced credit card interest rates, or claiming to be tech support calling about problems with our computers. We also get the calls at home. In fact, someone claiming to work for the IRS called my house just last week:

This has all the signs of an IRS imposter scam. In fact, the IRS won’t call out of the blue to ask for payment, won’t demand a specific form of payment, and won’t leave a message threatening to sue you if you don’t pay right away. Have you gotten a bogus IRS call like this? If you did, report the call to the FTC and to TIGTA – include the phone number it came from, along with any details you have.

It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.

The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
  • We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

katashinomo
July 01, 2016
3608751823 Left me a message, I called them back repeatedly for 2 hours trolling them until they disconnected that number from reaching their reps. Im sure they have other numbers, but at least I got them to take down one lol.
roell29
July 04, 2016
How the hell can they get away with this? I called them and could hear that it's a huge boiler room type of scam. Obviously some government bs behind this or they would just shut it down. Sickening.
Don
July 01, 2016
Two more numbers to add to the list: 707-617-8269; 320-360-6366. These trolls just don't give up! Anyone know any good hackers to take down their operations?
Anna
July 06, 2016
I received similar phone call from a woman with an accent who was federal investigator of IRS and threatened to arrest me if I won't call her back in 2 hours. Phone number is 347 349 8715.
Lulu
July 07, 2016
I received 6 calls yesterday from the same group of scammers. I never answer but block the number. I was told by a friend to not block the call because they will know they got a "live" number. Got up this morning and there was another IRS threat to put me in jail. I'm sick of these people and do not understand how they can get away with this harassment.
Dont Mess With Tx
July 07, 2016
Just receieved a call from fake IRS agents. Her name was "Cheryl Faulk (or Ford or Fork, hard to tell with her thick accent). I didn't answer the phone so she left a message. Said that there was a warrant out for my arrest, under my name and that my physical address was under Federal investigation. Also said that if I did not call back that they would turn it over to the local police. Tel Number was 347-944-1046-New York.
tiredofit
July 07, 2016
Call from 207-616-4441 claiming IRS is suing me...scam
peter knight
July 07, 2016
they took from me 26000$
Billy in Miami
July 11, 2016
They appear to be using the number of 202-386-6492 now. Identical to the recording above. Three+ VM messages left today.
bassoonicorn
July 12, 2016
585-301-4652 have received several calls from this number Telling me it is from the US Treasury and that it is 2nd and final attempt to contact me about case in front of a US magistate and to call back to get my case number. This is utter BS, if the FEDS want me they know where I live and Court Hearing would be scheduled via Registered Letter. i will not waste more time on this but I want this type of distressing and harrrasing phone calls to stop, Don't know what there business is but this is WRONG The US govermentent does not leave you messages about federal court cases on your phone”
WW
July 12, 2016
Received a robocall with a robovoice from 360-875-1475 claiming to be from the IRS threatening me with a "final notice" lawsuit. I called back intending to give them a piece of my mind, but the "call could not be completed" even though it was the number given in the message. I really (really) hate these guys.
mikemelvyn1634
July 13, 2016
I recently got a call from Fake IRS Scammers claiming I owe 7,000 that the police will be called in 45 minutes to arrest me i called the Potter County Sheriff office and Amarillo Crime Stoppers they asked me my address I gave them the address for the City of Amarillo Police Department 300 E 3rd Amarillo, TX 79101 I gave them 12/29/1845 as the DOB for the state of Texas if they call back i will tell them I died 3/6/1836 at the Alamo in San Antonio
LVL
July 13, 2016
Got 2 calls from 619-415-2671 with recorded message saying IRS is filing a lawsuit against us. Hoax. Sick of these calls.
Nick
July 14, 2016
Just received a call from 864.210.0428 from Honea Path, SC also claiming that the IRS has filed suit against me and that my state identity is under state investigation and to call for further information. Robot female recording.
another
July 14, 2016
I just got a call saying they are IRS filing claim agains t me:) 2178272265
Lorraine T.
July 15, 2016
323-861-5662 Claimed to be IRS and filing law suit against me...fraud...I hung up on them. SENIORS BEWARE!
Vinnie07s
July 18, 2016
I have received a number of calls from people stating that the IRS has filed a lawsuit against me. Those calls came on my home phone. The one today came on my cell phone. I did sign up on the National Do Not Call Registry. Today's call came from Illinois: 815 644-2653. I have never answered these calls. They leave voice messages. The police just say to ignore them.
Tire of it
July 18, 2016
voice recorded message about how my name has come up in tax fraud. To keep my name from being turned over to prosecutors I need to call... I have no tax issues and this number tends to change on the last 4 digits but the same message. I guess their robo dialer runs cycles. This is surely a scam. They call from 360-200-5888.
CE of TX
July 19, 2016
I received a robo call from a suppose to be officer from the IRS. She was telling me not to disregard or ignore the call, and that the issue was time sensitive and wanted me to call her back at 760-284-4628. This number is going on block list like all the other ones.
LVMama
July 20, 2016
Received a call from number 347.252.3802, left a message that it was the IRS and that they had filed a lawsuit. Well, I know that the IRS does not make house calls, only through direct communication. I called the number back and a man with a thick accent, sounded Indian, wanted me to repeat my telephone number to him. I responded that his business is a scam, the IRS does not make house calls, and that I will report this number. The man then proceeded to say that he wanted to [ ] me. I hung up.
BLah BLah
July 20, 2016
I got two missed calls on the same accusing me of fraud on Saturday. Then I got another missed call stating that IRS is going to file a lawsuit against me. phone numbers-509-588-1425 and 914-205-9262.
jcb
July 20, 2016
703-957-7827 is a new one they are using...well used. I called them 50 times after leading the guy on for a good 30 min phone call. Ended with him saying "Well ___ off".
Enjoy
July 20, 2016
Everyone should call 360-200-5888 say something like "I was talking with officer jack" they will "transfer" you to him. Then just have fun making different voices and such. The guy blew up on me and said "I think you kid, who is fu**ing fa*got, I sue you". Best 5 minutes of the day!
Ktr california
July 20, 2016
I received two phone call from an Officer Daniel Wiseman claims he was from the legal department of the IRS and there is a a lawsuit brought against me and that I should call him back 202-459-4681 and also provided me with a case file number. That if I didn't call back since this is time sensitive that he can't be responsible for how the situation unfolds and a he wished me luck if it gets to that point.
wtf
July 21, 2016
I just received a recording saying "this is your final message, the IRS is suing you, you need to call 937-301-9274". I called the number and it was a woman with a heavy accent and I asked her what her location was and she read off the IRS address in Washington DC. I hung up confirming it was a scam. So annoying!
Enough of It
July 21, 2016
btw a couple of month ago, also got several voice messages from an officer Parker Jackson threatening to arrest me if I did not pay my back taxes immediately. Left a phone number to call to work out this problem. Knew it was a scam because "the Officer Parker Jackson" had extremely strong Indian accent. Isn't there anything the FTC can do to help STOP these criminals from harassing good decent citizens?
Yaz50
July 21, 2016
Two phone calls to cell from Washington D.C.from a 202 area code with same recording that I am being sued by IRS. Smells like Scam!!! I am sure IRS will contact you by mail.
Steven Tubbs
July 21, 2016
Just tell them what I told them sue me and I'll have my friend who is a superior court judge act as my lawyer
Not surprised
July 22, 2016
Only the government could make trying to report receiving a call using the well-known IRS scam so incredibly difficult. No wonder they are winning and we are losing. 202-656-3251, that is the number they are using. I have no doubt when I call in several days it will still be in operation.
pm
July 26, 2016

I receive such messages every year, the scammers are getting smarter evry year, this year the accents have been replaced by an automated robo american voice thretening of a legal law suite. i tell them i work for govt and fbi was right outside their door, that their mom was crying in heaven to see the son rip people off their money for a living, boy it has those guys yelling at the top of their voices.My kids have fun and call the number a few more times asking them to find a decent job and after a few times they disconnect the number.

i just had the same message from 973 area code call such ridiculous messages scammers hack into phones, computers, even had an fbi virus looking or hacking into web cam once and taking over pictures in the computer, which were nature pictures. I was told on complaining that fbi virus takes over and some guys then demaned ransom from folks depending on what people store in computers.

Gary
July 28, 2016
July 28, 2016 Same call -"Final notice the IRS is filing a lawsuit... told to call 509 282 9001
Michael
July 29, 2016
Had one call me at my work his name was Officer Williams GS 2512 And that I committed section 202 Defrauding Taxes. He told me that I was going to go to jail that there is a warrant and they've frozen my accounts that I need to get a criminal lawyer and all I'm still razzled about it so allot of it I don't recall. They asked me what I was going to do and he even put me on with his higher up and he was the one who asked if I could pay this or serve time in Washington DC and take this up with a judge. Really scary stuff ppl.
Jen in Idaho
August 01, 2016
If you get a voice mail saying that you owe the IRS, instead of calling them back, guess who you should call: the IRS! Call a legitimate number. Don't be shocked when they have no idea what you're talking about. I've also had someone say they were with my internet provider and that my account was hacked and they needed access into my computer remotely. Oh, and that it would cost me about $200 for the "technician." Bull.
M.
August 02, 2016
I got a call today from 518-595-4483 about a final notice from IRS.. I called and the guy had a heavy Indian accent and he said his name was Johnny Williams (yeah, right).. Johnny told me I owed $4420 and they've sent multiple letters to my address, which he could not verify my address. When I said this was BS, he threatened to have law enforcement arrest me immediately.
Suckka
August 02, 2016
Received my call, called them back, the guy with a thick Indian accent asked me if I had seen the police yet, the local police, whom he had dispatched for my arrest for outstanding monies due to the IRS - and I said, "hmm, nope, not since I helped him dress and leave for work", and we were disconnected. I called back right away, so as not to prolong the issue and he told me to stop bothering him! HA HA HA HA HA
Jo
August 03, 2016
I just received a message from Steve Parker too. The call back number that he gave is: 844-308-4802. They were asking for my son last year and called numerous times. They can be relentless. Like many others I have called back and been hung up once I start asking questions. Sad to see that unsuspecting people fell prey to their con!
Jo
August 03, 2016
I received a call from Steve Parker today, claiming to be with the "IRS". His call back number is: 844-308-4802. He too had a very thick accent. They called quite a bit last year and starting asking for our son. Like everyone else once you start asking them questions they just hang up on you. It is sad that so many people have been conned by these relentless horrible people. I know that the NYC news covered a story about this type of scam last year, maybe more news stations should report on it so people wouldn't fall prey to their threatening rhetoric.
Theyshould go …
August 08, 2016
I'm in minnesota and I got a call from them. Called them back and a guy with a heavy accent claimed to be an "eric brown" that was the first red flag. Then he continued to argue with me on why I was questioning why i didn't get a bill or no other phone calls. I kept repeating myself and he told me I was being rude to him and I owed $8,000 from 2009-2013 for not filing my taxes correctly. I began to laugh at him and told him he needs to go to jail. He kept on with the same script no matter what crazy stuff I said. needless to say...i called them quite a few times for the fun of it since they want to harass and scam people!!!
Jett
August 09, 2016
Same auto call claiming last warning before lawsuit was filed. Number was out of New York, 914-315-4396. I will be reporting to FTC & all other agencies that need to know. Not ok to do to someone with ptsd.
TEC
August 10, 2016
Received three calls today from (801) 410-7837 saying: "Internal revenue services. The reason of this call is to inform you that IRS is filing lawsuit against you to get more information about this case file. Please call immediately on our department number is 747-229-3430. I repeat 747-229-3430. Thank you." This happened to us about six months too.
sounded very real
August 12, 2016
got a call from 347-349-8572 saying there's a legal case filed against me for providing misleading info and tax evasion, which is a felony and notifying me that a warrant has been issued in my name and a local police department will be coming to arrest me today! After talking to a supervisor for the next 20 minutes, they finally asked for money and said i can not mail it or pay with a card, has to be cash and advised to use MoneyGram or something like that, which is when i realized it was a scam, but it was very believable and scary. catch these guys please!!!
3dogmom
August 13, 2016
Received 2 calls on cellphone from Portsmouth, VA yesterday and day before yesterday threatening legal action from IRS. Bogus as we don't owe any money to IRS. Phone number is 757-337-1053. Blocked the caller.
Siryoung
August 15, 2016
I received the same scam IVR(Interactive Voice Response)claim IRS Lawsuit from phone number 570-216-1175
fedupwiththisbs
August 16, 2016
Just received a call from 646-367-1947. BS call about legal action against me........press 1 to talk to attorney press 2 to face legal action. I pressed 1 to get to live person to tell them to stop calling with this bullcrap! Then I hung up!
Bob (received …
August 16, 2016
Received an attempted scam call from: 203-204-6171 Someone called me and when I called back, the guy asked me my name. He said an IRS case is pending against me and asked my name again to find the file. I said, well, if you know of a pending case against me and know my phone number, you tell me my name. The guy projected himself as an IRS Officer at the HQ, named Adam Smith. The accent was very un-American and I doubt that he even called from the US or from outside. He said, without my name he can't help me and he is there to help me. He then threatened me that an arrest warrant will be issued within 24 hours. Obviously, all my IRS dues are paid and I'm in a relatively low-middle wage level and everything is clean. So, this guy was bluffing to get name and subsequently other sensitive information. Projecting fraudulently as a governmental official is a crime and I'd like to draw the attention of others who were targeted as victims.
Pat
August 17, 2016
My boyfriend just received a call and told him to be in a city by 3pm. They gave him the address of an irs building in the city they claim he needs to be at or they will issue a warrant for his arrest.
rFSoCal
August 17, 2016
I just received a call from 856-631-4846 from a "Dexter Wilson" badge #GS4290 saying he's from the IRS and that I owe $5896 from "miscalculations" on my taxes from 2010-2014. Super aggressive and threatened to send cops and IRS to my door. That all my assets will be frozen , etc. I recorded the call just in case.
niuniu
August 19, 2016
got several similar calls from different number saying IRS is filing a suit against me. The most recent one is today from phone number 6268077852. I just hung up.
wastewaterjesse
August 21, 2016
how does the scamer get so many phone numbers?