WKMG-TV investigative producer Donovan Myrie got a sample of the type of con games he exposes on his own cell phone.
The veteran journalist received one of those "pay or else" calls from an IRS impostor last week complete with the robocall recording advising him legal action was looming.
“There was nothing personal about it… just you’re being sued,” Myrie said.
The calls, usually recorded, rarely have your name Social Security number or even what you owe.
Still, when people hear the IRS is on the line it gets the intended effect.
“The scary part about it," Myrie said, "is there are some people who would get something like this, someone like my mother who is elderly, and she would call this number and who knows where this would lead to?”
The IRS phone call scam has already scored $29 million since 2013, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
More than 5,000 taxpayers have wired funds or purchased some sort of cash card to pay for a bogus tax bill that never existed.
Myrie said his call came from Texas area code 830, not Washington D.C.’s 202 exchange.
The IRS posted this information for anyone receiving an IRS robocall:
If you owe federal taxes or think you might owe taxes, hang up and call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you with your payment questions.
If you do not owe taxes, fill out the “IRS Impersonation scam” form on TIGTA’s website, www.tigta.gov or call TIGTA at 800-366-4484.
You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.FTC.gov. Add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments in your complaint.