Woman loses thousands in scam
Mike Scott
Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott continues to warn area residents of scams where people on the telephone and/or Internet are bilking people out of their hard-earned money from their checking and saving accounts.
He warns to not let this happen to you.
Within 24 hours, a Lee County woman found herself out of $19,500 a few days ago after being duped by con-artists in the on-going IRS scam that continues to plague Southwest Florida, as well as the nation.
The woman finally contacted the Sheriff’s Office fraud line a few days ago to report the devastating financial loss; that will most likely end with little to no chance for her to get her money back, according to Sheriff Scott.
On the morning of the incident, the victim received a voice message on her home phone from someone claiming to be with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). When she returned the message, the scammer told her she owed $5,450 in back taxes from 2010-2014, and if she didn’t pay in 20 minutes, she would be arrested. She was instructed to go to a local grocery store and purchase multiple reloadable prepaid cards, which she did, according to Sheriff Scott.
After complying with the scammer, the victim received a second phone call stating she had issues with her 2008-2010 tax returns, and “would need to pay another $14,500 via wire transfer to avoid arrest.”
This time, the victim had to use her retirement savings in order to pay the heartless fraudster. In addition, she was asked to take a picture of her driver’s license and email it to taxpaymentinfo@gmail.com, the sheriff said.
According to federal authorities, the IRS impersonation scam has swindled victims out of more than $15 million since it began in 2013. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office strongly encourages you NOT to respond to any call demanding immediate payment of back taxes, but instead urges you to call the IRS at 800-829-1040 so legitimate IRS employee can help determine whether or not you have tax issues.
If you have received an IRS imposter phone call and would like to report it to law enforcement; or if you have sent money to a scammer, you are urged to contact the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Fraud Line at 258-3292. You can also report the incident to TIGTA (Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration) at 800-366-4484, or file an online complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov.
Woman loses thousands in scam
Mike Scott
Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott continues to warn area residents of scams where people on the telephone and/or Internet are bilking people out of their hard-earned money from their checking and saving accounts.
He warns to not let this happen to you.
Within 24 hours, a Lee County woman found herself out of $19,500 a few days ago after being duped by con-artists in the on-going IRS scam that continues to plague Southwest Florida, as well as the nation.
The woman finally contacted the Sheriff’s Office fraud line a few days ago to report the devastating financial loss; that will most likely end with little to no chance for her to get her money back, according to Sheriff Scott.
On the morning of the incident, the victim received a voice message on her home phone from someone claiming to be with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). When she returned the message, the scammer told her she owed $5,450 in back taxes from 2010-2014, and if she didn’t pay in 20 minutes, she would be arrested. She was instructed to go to a local grocery store and purchase multiple reloadable prepaid cards, which she did, according to Sheriff Scott.
After complying with the scammer, the victim received a second phone call stating she had issues with her 2008-2010 tax returns, and “would need to pay another $14,500 via wire transfer to avoid arrest.”
This time, the victim had to use her retirement savings in order to pay the heartless fraudster. In addition, she was asked to take a picture of her driver’s license and email it to taxpaymentinfo@gmail.com, the sheriff said.
According to federal authorities, the IRS impersonation scam has swindled victims out of more than $15 million since it began in 2013. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office strongly encourages you NOT to respond to any call demanding immediate payment of back taxes, but instead urges you to call the IRS at 800-829-1040 so legitimate IRS employee can help determine whether or not you have tax issues.
If you have received an IRS imposter phone call and would like to report it to law enforcement; or if you have sent money to a scammer, you are urged to contact the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Fraud Line at 258-3292. You can also report the incident to TIGTA (Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration) at 800-366-4484, or file an online complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov.
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