Full Notification

Lansdale Police are warning residents of an IRS scam in which the scam artists are using software that enables them to have a police department’s phone number appear on a potential victim’s caller ID screen.

On June 26th, Lansdale Police received a complaint that a senior citizen from Towamencin Township received a phone call from a male with a heavy “Indian” accent claiming to be an IRS agent. The scam artist informed the resident that it was discovered that the resident owed back taxes in the amount of almost $4000.00 from previous filing years. He then provided a fictitious IRS case number in an attempt to give the scam credibility. The resident stated that it appeared official and that the scam artist used pressure tactics by stating that a “sheriff” from the Lansdale Police Department would come to the resident’s home and arrest them if payment was not made.

Fortunately, the potential victim did not send money; even after another male called back stating they were a sheriff and the resident’s caller ID showed an actual phone number registered to the Lansdale Police Department.

Police remind residents of the following:

1) The IRS will never call you by phone and ask you to pay money to them by using means such as Green Dot Cards or Western Union wire transfers.

2) If you have doubts as to whether you are speaking to a legitimate law enforcement officer/agent by phone, obtain their name/badge number and call their Department using the phone number found through your own research (online/Yellow Pages) to determine standing.

3) Please educate your relatives/friends, especially those that are elderly, to these scams as many people have lost their life savings to them.


The IRS asks the public to report scams by clicking on the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration link on the bottom right of the IRS homepage.

http://www.irs.gov/



CRIMINAL CHARGES, AND ANY DISCUSSION THEREOF, ARE MERELY ALLEGATIONS AND ALL DEFENDANTS ARE PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL AND UNLESS PROVEN GUILTY.