Not only are criminals calling people and telling them their computer has viruses that need to be removed remotely, now they’ve started calling people on the phone and pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service. They inform the victim that they owe the I.R.S $5000.00 and it has to be paid right away by credit card or debit card. They inform the “mark” that he/she has committed tax fraud or tax evasion and that the U.S. government must have payment immediately. They speak with authority and coerce the victim into giving them their social security number and a credit card number.
If the victim says they don’t have $5000.00, the criminals tell them they have to pay $500.00 right away and that they will bill them for the rest. If the victim resists giving them their information, the criminals tell them that the police will be at their home within 30 minutes and they will be arrested and jailed.
I’ve had two different customers tell me about this scam. One of them, a young person who didn’t know how the I.R.S. operates, actually gave the criminals his social security number and bank debit card number. The other person was half convinced by the phone call but didn’t agree to give them her personal information over the phone.