A
recent Wall Street Journal article warned that authorities are fighting a
scourge of phone crime enabled by cheap technology that blasts out nefarious
calls and hides wrongdoers’ whereabouts. The scammers are heavily targeting the
elderly, often posing as cash-strapped grandchildren, tax collectors or
providers of technical support.
Fully
robotic robocall schemes leave automated messages directing recipients to call
back certain numbers. Those who comply encounter a person and a pitch. In
another tactic, fraudsters, often overseas, hop on the line when someone picks
up. India, The Philippines, Costa Rica and Peru are among countries where such
operations are most prevalent.
Also,
fraudsters use robocalls and caller IDs to imitate the Internal Revenue
Service.
The
callers falsely and aggressively claim recipients owe back taxes and face
immediate legal trouble.
Note: The IRS will send you a letter first – not a
phone call – if you owe back taxes. The IRS scam is among those
disproportionately targeting the elderly.
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