Today I am taking a break from covering my normal beat, business in China and Chinese consumers to talk about what has developed over the last couple of years into one of the most widespread and costly phone scams in the US today.
A few weeks ago I got a call, from the "I.R.S." and the person on the other end of the line claimed that I owed them money and that if I did not pay up immediately they would send someone to put me to jail. I politely asked for the person's name and number so that I could call them back to discuss the matter further. They quickly hung up.
I then set to work googling for information and found that this was a scam that has been perpetrated across the US for the last few years and that thousands of people have lost millions of dollars by falling for it. I also found out many of my friends, relatives and colleagues got similar calls. The scam usually starts with a call from blocked or spoofed caller ID and a con artist identifying him or herself as an IRS agent. Victims are told they are liable for back taxes and must make an immediate payment to avoid legal action. Scammers look to steal from victims directly and to commit identity theft.
Reports from the I.R.S. and consumer protection groups say that the problem was worse this year than ever before and that the lead up to Tax Day 2015 has seen a peak in this pernicious fraud and that as is usual with these scams the elderly and vulnerable are being targeted and are suffering the most. The I.R.S. has issued a statement that:
Thee IRS will always make first contact with you by letter and will not:
• Call you to demand immediate payment of taxes owed without first sending you a prior official written notice;
• Ask you for your credit or debit card numbers over the phone; or
• Pressure you by threatening to involve local police or other law enforcement to arrest you for nonpayment.
This scam is, in my opinion, partly a result of the technology that usually make our lives easier, but that sometimes can make us vulnerable. As with email scams where criminals use the cover of anonymity and proxy servers to commit their crimes, IRS scammers use blocked calls, private calls and untraceable numbers to hide behind. This got me to thinking about how we all can take the precautions we take online to protect ourselves to do the same with unwanted phone calls that could be criminal in nature.
My research led to to a product called TrapCall and I got a chance to speak with the Ethan Garr, General manager of TelTech, the New Jersey company that makes Trap Call.
MZ: Ethan, what exactly is Trap Call?
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