BE WARNED; THIS IS A SCAM. I keep getting these types of calls threatening a possible arrest if I don't call them back, and some of the callers are VERY convincing (other than their English names despite their heavy Indian accents—his difficulty in pronouncing his own name was a dead giveaway).
In the past, the caller has identified himself as an officer from the "Department of Investigations", even though no such department exists at the federal level or in my state. This time, however, he specified he was an "officer of the federal government". (I guess they didn't get the memo that the federal government is shut down right now.) Anyway, if they were real, they'd identify themselves specifically from FBI, IRS, or some other specific federal agency.
They are based out of India and seem use fear tactics on folks of Indian decent to extort money from them under the guise of a "fine" or "penalty", frequently claiming that IRS back-taxes are owed. They never specify the charges against you on the answering machine (real investigators would never call you about an impending arrest in the first place), and they hang up on you if you tell them you know about their scam. (They won't waste their time on people who are aware of what they're doing.)
I did a reverse lookup on the phone number, and it's based out of San Antonio, TX (so much for "federal"), although I'm fairly sure that the number is just an "exit point" for voice-over-IP communications. Since these guys are based outside of the country, it's virtually impossible for the Feds to catch these guys without some form of international cooperation.
BE WARNED; THIS IS A SCAM. I keep getting these types of calls threatening a possible arrest if I don't call them back, and some of the callers are VERY convincing (other than their English names despite their heavy Indian accents—his difficulty in pronouncing his own name was a dead giveaway).
In the past, the caller has identified himself as an officer from the "Department of Investigations", even though no such department exists at the federal level or in my state. This time, however, he specified he was an "officer of the federal government". (I guess they didn't get the memo that the federal government is shut down right now.) Anyway, if they were real, they'd identify themselves specifically from FBI, IRS, or some other specific federal agency.
They are based out of India and seem use fear tactics on folks of Indian decent to extort money from them under the guise of a "fine" or "penalty", frequently claiming that IRS back-taxes are owed. They never specify the charges against you on the answering machine (real investigators would never call you about an impending arrest in the first place), and they hang up on you if you tell them you know about their scam. (They won't waste their time on people who are aware of what they're doing.)
I did a reverse lookup on the phone number, and it's based out of San Antonio, TX (so much for "federal"), although I'm fairly sure that the number is just an "exit point" for voice-over-IP communications. Since these guys are based outside of the country, it's virtually impossible for the Feds to catch these guys without some form of international cooperation.
Caller type: Scammer
Caller: Officer Gibson
Company: Federal Government
Number: 210-390-9352
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