“Your driver’s license has been suspended. You will be arrested. You will be deported. We are on our way to your home right now.” These are just a few of the many threats scammers have made against hundreds of Fairfax County residents over the past several weeks. Police warn the public not to fall prey to them and, instead, to call and report them.
These telephone scammers are described as demanding, aggressive, threatening and easily angered when callers don’t immediately agree to their demands of “overdue tax balances.” Some have also had heavy accents.
Typically, callers demand between $4,000-$6,000 in immediate payment of unpaid tax bills. These scams are sophisticated and involve false names, numbers and phony IRS badge numbers. Suspects often continue to call and harass the recipient. So police urge residents to:
Contact IRS at http://www.irs.gov/uac/Telephone-Assistance if they feel there’s any discrepancy with their tax bills or they believe they’re being scammed.
Be skeptical if someone asks/demands tax payments with a Green Dot Moneypack.
Report suspicious or harassing calls to police at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/120413citizenreportingsystem.htm
Once money’s been wired/sent, it’s impossible to recover. More information on common scams may be found at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/financialcrimes/commonscams.htm.