Full Notification

Internet and telephone scammers continue to prey on the general public using scare tactics designed to frighten victims into making deposits or wire transfer money to specific bank accounts or people. The callers claim to be associated with the Internal Revenue Service and inform the victims that there is an unpaid amount of taxes owed to the federal government and that the money needs to be collected immediately. Any attempts by the victims to question the legitimacy of the call result in threats of incarceration by local law enforcement agencies. During these calls the victim is told not to disclose any of the information about the telephone call to anyone. In recent cases the victims have been instructed to make cash deposits into specific personal bank accounts and are provided with all information necessary for the transaction. The callers appear to be using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to contact the victims. They use “spoofing” techniques to change the telephone number displayed on the victim’s Caller ID.

A Shipshewana Police Officer was able to answer one of these telephone calls while investigating one of these cases at a local bank. The victim in this case was about to deposit a large amount of money into an account already specified. A teller at the bank became aware of the reason for the deposit and informed management who then notified police. The officer advised that during the telephone call the caller demanded to speak with the victim even after he was made aware that he was talking to a law enforcement officer. He said that the caller became “very loud and angry” and immediately threatened to have police officers on the way to have the victim arrested and the officer for “obstructing”. Subsequent calls followed in which the caller continued to make threats and at one point threatened to have “federal agents” on the way to the bank. One of the last calls to the victim’s cell phone displayed “911”. The caller identified himself as a police officer with the “Sheriff’s Department” and immediately attempted to intimidate the officer but quickly ended the call when he was informed that he was speaking with a real police officer.

The callers in these cases appear to have an Indian accent when they speak. They are able to provide basic and personal information to the victims in order to build credibility and give legitimacy to the call. They are said to inform potential victims of “back taxes” owed on either real property or income and use threats of arrest to give urgency to the matter. They also inform the victims that they are not to share any information from the telephone call with any one. According to information found on the IRS website (irs.gov) The IRS will not angrily demand payment over the phone. And if you owe taxes, The IRS will mail a bill to you first. They will not threaten to bring local police or any other law enforcement to arrest you for not paying or demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to appeal. And the IRS will never require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes. For more information on reporting tax scams, you can go to IRS.gov and type “scam” in the search box.

If you have any questions or believe you may be the victim of a scam you can contact the Shipshewana Police Department at 260-768-4310 or your local law enforcement agency.