TAMPA, Fla. — The IRS, FBI, ICE and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are urging the public to be more vigilant when it comes to phone fraud.
Officials and agents from the U.S. Attorney's Office-Middle District of Florida, the IRS, the U.S. Treasure, the U.S. Postal Service, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security held a joint news conference Wednesday afternoon to provide details about three main types of scams.
The officials referenced phone scam operations out of Florida that were recently prosecuted, including a fraudulent Jamaican lottery scheme, multiple telemarketing scams and cases involving scammers claiming to be from the IRS.
Law enforcement said 35 people's identities were stolen in two years, and $4.7 million was stolen and sent to Jamaica.
Officials said there are three phone scams they commonly see and prosecute.
An IRS impersonating scam often involves a person calling random numbers and saying they are from the IRS, that you owe them money immediately and sometimes threaten arrest.
Special agent in charge of the criminal investigation at the IRS, Mary Hammond, said the IRS will not call and demand you pay them taxes or warn that they are going to arrest you.
Another type of scam they see is bad tax return preparers, which involves them promising a higher tax return. Officials said these bad tax return preparers will ask for a fee based on a percentage of your refund.
Sweepstakes scams often involve people calling random numbers and telling people they've won a lottery or sweepstakes but must wire money or send gift cards in order to get the prize. With the Jamaican lottery scam, three people were coordinating an operation that involved them calling to tell people they've won the Jamaican lottery and to wire funds to "representatives" in Orlando to "prepay fees and taxes."
The U.S. Attorney's Office said many of the victims of this scam were elderly.
"It's very scary to get a call from the police or IRS if you're not expecting it," Hammond said. "As soon as it's not profitable, the calls will stop."
Officials urged the public to "just hang up" if they get a call from someone who they believe is trying to scam them. If you think you're a victim of a phone scam, you're asked to call any law enforcement agency.
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