January 21, 2016
- By Paul Joseph, Paragon Communications News Director -
Foreign scam artists are back at it, but this time they have a new IRS twist. Yes, they’re still claiming back taxes are owed, but now they’ve involved the sheriff’s office.
The scam artists, obviously foreigners from their accent, are calling local residents and claiming to be from the IRS, threatening to use the Beckham County Sheriff’s Office to collect money that is allegedly owed.
Sheriff Scott Jay warns residents not to fall for it because “it’s nothing but a scam.” He says the scammers usually have either a Jamaican or Indian accent, and they are very persistent and that they are foreigners posing as government agents.
In a press release, Jay says, “They use the Internet and Google Maps to locate residents’ homes. They know who the Sheriff is” and they tell victims they’re going to send Sheriff Scott Jay after them to get the money they owe. He says “the crooks use fear and intimidation to get money.” He reminds residents that Sheriff Jay says this is not a valid means of collecting money in the United States.
Jay recommends that those receiving the calls such as this should be very firm with the scammers.
“In strong terms,” the Sheriff says, “tell them you know it’s a scam and not to call back. Then hang up. This will make it less likely that they’ll call back.”
The press release says that, unfortunately, a number of Beckham County residents have already been victimized by the scam to the tune of thousands of dollars.
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