Dec. 12--St. Charles police are continuing to receive complaints from residents targeted by scammers who pose in phone calls as Treasury or Internal Revenue Service officials threatening arrest, eviction or loss of property, authorities say.
A St. Charles woman reported to police Nov. 29 about receiving a voice mail message from someone claiming to be with the IRS who said the resident owed $2,000 in back taxes and needed to call a phone number to transfer the owed money to avoid an arrest warrant in her name, said Officer Bill Tynan. The phone call is the first one associated with what authorities call the "IRS Phone Scam" to be reported to St. Charles police in six months.
"As far as police know, this is the first one since a June incident," Tynan said. "But we know that these are far under-reported, and it's happening at a far greater clip than what's being reported."
Thousands have been targeted by these scammers nationwide for the past few years, but police report a spike in calls within the last year. Residents have reported that the thieves are rude, threatening and demanding over the phone. Often, the scare tactics are directed toward senior citizens, Tynan said.
A similar call was reportedly made to a 93-year-old woman in west suburban Westchester.
"The reason this thing works is because people are easily scared," he said. "So they specifically target senior citizens for that reason."
The thieves seek personal information, money orders or prepaid credit or debit cards in order to void the phony arrest warrants, according to Thomas Bruton, clerk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The St. Charles resident who reported the call in late November told police she called the number the thief told her to call, which had a 585 area code, affiliated with the Rochester, N.Y., area. She said she spoke with a man with a heavy Middle Eastern accent, who then disconnected the call and called her back from an 800 number.
The thief told the victim she owed $2,000 in back taxes and that she needed to pay the amount immediately to avoid arrest, Tynan said. The thief advised the victim to go to a Meijer and purchase $2,000 in Reloadit prepaid debit cards. The victim complied, and after reading the serial numbers to the thief, the thief immediately hung up the phone.
Two similar incidents have been reported in St. Charles, Tynan said. On June 26, a resident was contacted by a thief who identified himself as "Mr. Cruz," who said if the resident didn't pay his owed $5,000 he could face arrest and eviction from his home. He was directed to load the money on Green Dot MoneyPak prepaid cards.
On June 27, a resident was told she owed the IRS nearly $6,000, and was threatened with arrest and seizure of property, Tynan said.
Both June phone calls came from a 202 area code, which covers Washington, D.C.
Tynan said it's important residents understand that the IRS or any other government entity wouldn't call regarding such issues, but would mail correspondence. The phone call itself is a red flag, he said.
While only a few incidents have been reported in St. Charles, Tynan said he's heard people mention receiving the calls. Even if a resident hangs up the phone or ignores the call, it's important to report it to police, he said.
"A lot of people hesitate to call 911 about this, but we need to know," he said. "At the very least, we can make an informational report about it and track this stuff."
Residents receiving these calls or questioning the legitimacy of a government phone call are asked to contact the St. Charles Police Department.
