Full Notification

The Macungie Police Department frequently receives calls from residents about suspicious phone calls they receive or notifications of prize winnings.

A resident recently reported a suspicious message left on their answering machine. The caller identified himself as Officer John Foster from the IRS. The caller advised in the message that the resident or the resident's attorney needed to contact them to avoid legal action or arrest and provided a call back number. The resident did not call the number back but a police officer did. A male with a heavy Indian accent answered with the name of a private security company. When asked to verify the company name he refused to say it a second time. The male was asked for Officer Foster and he said no such person worked there.

The male asked who was calling and became aggressive when told if Officer Foster was not there it must be a wrong number. The male became more aggressive and wanted to know the phone number this particular call was from. The number was not provided and the male hung up.

The IRS website indicates they will attempt to contact residents by mail to collect outstanding balances. The IRS will never ask for credit card information, bank information and will not tell residents to use a money gram or money transfer type service.

Residents should be cautious of such calls. A very easy way to confirm the validity of suspect calls is to ask questions. A common factor with most phone scam type calls is the caller will begin to become agitated when asked question and most likely hang up.

Any residents who suspects a fraudulent or suspicious call can always contact Macungie Police Department for assistance.