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‘Do not respond!’ Man harassed by scammers claiming to work for IRS

Posted at 7:10 PM, Mar 01, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-01 19:10:23-05

RICHMOND, Va. -- Donnie Walsh called CBS 6 Problem Solvers after being harassed by scammers, claiming to work for the Internal Revenue Service.

“It got my attention!” Walsh explained.

He said he was receiving multiple calls and voicemails from New York and Washington D.C. phone numbers.

“I kind of fell for it a little bit at first, and then I called the number back,” explained Walsh. “When the man said he was with the Internal Revenue Service, it just did not seem right.”

Donnie Walsh

Walsh says he hung up and immediately called the IRS to see if they were looking for him, and as he suspected, they were not trying to reach him.

Barry N. Moore, CEO and President of the Better Business Bureau serving Central Virginia, said that Walsh is not alone, in fact he said this is one of the most common scams they see.

“It’s a never-ending deluge of calls that come in on the IRS scam, every day, every month, every year, sometimes more and it’s usually around the tax filing season,” Moore explained.

“Make no mistake, people that are doing this are in criminal activity, they are not spoofing, they are not having fun, they are good at what they do,” he continued.

Moore said, in these situations like this, the best thing to do, is not to respond at all.

Barry N. Moore

“If you call that number back, sometimes it will put you into another system as someone who will respond to a call and a voicemail. Then you get passed around the whole criminal network that says here is somebody that responds, now you guys can have a try at him/her as well.”

The BBB says if the IRS is trying to get in touch with you, they will find you and ask to set up an appointment for you to come in to a local IRS office.

They will not ask for money or sensitive personal information over the phone, in the mail, or electronically.

CBS 6 News is working for you. Click here to email a tip to the CBS 6 Problem Solvers. Be sure to leave us your name, phone number and detailed description of the problem. You can also leave a message by calling 804-254-3672.

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