METAIRIE, LA (WGNO) — It’s a nationwide phone scam. The caller tells you that you owe thousands of dollars to the IRS. A Metairie woman got one of those calls–then she called WGNO.
Lynda Richard says she initially believed the caller was from the IRS. But as she grew suspicious, she decided to put the caller on her home speaker phone, and then she recorded the conversation on her cell phone.
The caller threatened to send “officers” to Lynda’s house to arrest her for non-payment of $9000. He wanted her to pay over the phone with her credit card, and he also wanted her to sign on to a website that would have allowed the caller to take control of her online activity. Lynda says that’s what tipped her off that the call was a hoax.
The Louisiana Attorney General’s office says the IRS will never call to demand payment over the phone. If you get one of those calls, hang up and then call the AG’s office to report it.
For more information, log on to: http://www.ag.state.la.us/