Full Notification

A Macungie resident was scammed out of $400.00 by a fake IRS call. A woman with a foreign accent called the resident and said back taxes from 2010 were owed to the IRS. She was advised there was a $1286.00 debt that needed to be paid immediately or they were going to call police and have her arrested. The resident started to panic and was transferred to "Agent Steve Smith". Fake Agent Smith gave specific instructions to the resident and told her the only way the debt could be paid was via pre-paid itune or iphone cards.

The resident was directed to a pharmacy to purchase iphone gift cards or itune gift cards and call a toll free number back when she had them. The resident bought four (4) $100 cards totaling $400.00 because the store had no more available for purchase. The male called the resident back and was told only 4 cards were obtained. The resident was directed to drive to a different location and get more cards. The resident explained she had no transportation and was told to call a taxi cab for a ride. The resident declined to do that and the male began to become more angry. The resident began to suspect the call was a scam and called police.

These scams are nothing new. The only thing that changes is the story behind the call. The most common are IRS scams, where callers threaten you with arrest for owed back taxes. The Grandparent scam, where callers advise your Grandchild is in trouble and needs bail money or a medical procedure. The Bench Warrant scam, where you allegedly failed to show for jury duty and you must pay a penalty to avoid arrest. The stories keep changing but they always result in you being told to get some form of PRE PAID card and providing the caller with the PIN or sending a MONEY TRANSFER. Always question the callers when you suspect. Get a return phone number (NOT THE CALLER ID NUMBER) and check the phone listing yourself. If you have no internet service, call us! We will gladly help determine if the calls you receive are legitimate.