The fake agent claims that the citizen hasn't paid his taxes or that his SS# has been used in a fraud and cancelled. The fake agent may not even have the citizen's real SS# which is why they are usually quite eager to get it from the citizen. The scammer threatens the citizen with immediate arrest. Of course the scammer can fix this problem if the citizen will transfer some money into an account, give the scammer access to his or her bank account, or best of all transfer money onto gift cards. But the citizen had better do this quick because the police are on their way right now.
This is of course all bs. But evidently enough people still fall for it for people to keep on doing it. The obvious foreign accents, horrible pronunciation, and utter unfamiliarity with the basic facts of American life and culture should be enough to clue anyone in on the fact that this is a scam, let along the fact that the FBI, IRS or SS Administration do not call people and shake them down for gift cards. But every year, particularly at tax time, people get these calls.
(WXYZ) — Authorities in Novi and Northville are warning residents of an ongoing phone scam circulating in the area. Police say an individual claiming to be an IRS representative demands that you transfer money in the form of gift cards to avoid being arrested. The scammers are able to generate phone numbers with local area codes, increasing your likelihood of answering.
Police departments will not call residents to discuss tax issues. Also, the IRS will never demand immediate payment or threaten to arrest you. Do not give out your personal information, police say.
I suspect that older people, really young people and of course recent immigrants may be the target market for these lowlifes. I thought the below video was a humorous way to deal with someone trying to remotely pick your pocket. And the time that they made this scammer waste is time that the scammer won't be using to hurt other people. So this is really a public service.