City Police chief shames IRS phone scammers

Friday, June 1, 2018

Scammers employing the ever-maddening IRS scam apparently are targeting the Greencastle area, trying to tap into residents' pocketbooks but instead getting a piece of Chief Tom Sutherlin's mind.

Greencastle Police Chief Sutherlin said his department took about a dozen calls Thursday from residents reporting the IRS scam in which a caller threatens to send police to arrest residents if they don't pay their back taxes.

"I don't know if today's the day they're picking on Greencastle or what," Sutherlin told the Banner Graphic. "But we are starting to get a lot of complaints and phone calls from the community stating the IRS is contacting them and leaving the following message on their cell phones: 'You will be taken into custody by your local police ... there are allegations against you for not paying all of your taxes.'"

Obviously it is a scam and the callers are trying to scare people into complying with their orders.

Two phone numbers provided to police by local complainants are (585) 633-1443 and (914) 364-5801.

"It is my understanding that these phone calls are coming up from cities in New York," Chief Sutherlin said. "I am forwarding information to the Attorney General's Office, making them aware that there are real people answering the return phone calls stating they are the IRS."

But Sutherlin wasn't about to let it end there. He personally called the phone numbers and acted as if he had been called and was responding to the voicemail message the scammers left.

"I was shocked that when I called, people actually answered and were claiming to be from the IRS," the chief said.

After a few moments conversing with what he said were foreign-sounding individuals -- although one said his name was Roger Jeffers -- Sutherlin identified himself and went on the attack.

"I said, 'You're talking to the chief of police from Greencastle, Ind., and I'm going to call the FBI about you.'"

Directly asking the callers why they were scamming people, Sutherlin got some surprising responses.

"'Why are you trying to scam people?'" Sutherlin asked.

The response was dead silence on the other end of the phone.

The caller finally admitted, "'Yes, I know that,'" he told Sutherlin.

Incredulously, the chief asked why.

"Go fill out an application and get a real job," he scolded. "Go to McDonald's and flip burgers."

The scammer, obviously seeking sympathy, offered, "It's not that simple."

"Quit stealing money from people," Sutherlin said he admonished him, telling the scammer he was contacting the FBI.

The Greencastle chief wants the public to know that the bogus IRS calls are a definite scam.

"We're not going to come and arrest you," he said of Greencastle City Police officers. "You don't owe back taxes, it's just people who are lazy trying to get your money."

Acknowledging that the scam story has been in the local media a number of times -- and actually has been written about locally since at least 2014 -- Sutherlin said regrettably people are still falling for the notion that the Internal Revenue Service might call and threaten you with arrest for supposed past-due taxes.

"We (local police) are not going to come to your front door and arrest you if you don't pay their (bogus) fine," Chief Sutherlin assured.

IRS officials also would never ask anyone for a credit card number or a debit card number or prepaid card information over the phone, the police chief added.

The IRS has said it will never initiate contact over the phone but instead will always make contact initially through official mail correspondence.

The best solution for those who receive such a call, Chief Sutherlin said, is to hang up and contact the Indiana Attorney General's Office (1-888-834-9969) or the IRS itself (1-800-366-4484).

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