A Johnston County man lost $3,000 after falling victim to an IRS scam. The 67 year-old victim said he received a call at his home in the Corinth Holders community on June 17th from a person pretending to be an agent with the Internal Revenue Service.
The scammer claimed the victim’s name had surfaced in a money laundering investigation and a warrant had been issued for his arrest. They said they would be in contact in a few more days.
On June 23rd, the victim said he received a call from someone else posing as a federal Drug Enforcement Agent. The caller claimed a truck with drugs was stopped in Texas and as part of the investigation the victim’s name was linked to a federal money laundering investigation.
To avoid being arrested on the outstanding warrant, the DEA imposter told the victim he had to pay $3,000. The victim obtained six $500 Target gift cards and provided the card numbers to the scammer that same day. Only later did he realize he had been scammed.
According to the IRS, sophisticated phone scams costs individuals millions of dollars each year. The IRS says agents will never call and demand immediate payment or use a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. Generally, the IRS will first mail you a bill if you owe any taxes. The IRS will not threaten to have you arrested if you don’t pay your taxes. Any request for payment to retract a warrant, avoid deportation, or revoke a specific license is a scam.
