An IRS impersonation fraud that has victimized thousands of Americans leads a 2017 U.S. Senate ranking of the Top 10 scams targeting senior citizens. Dubbed by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration as the most pervasive impersonation fraud in IRS history, the swindle involves suspected scammers based in the U.S. and India who telephone Americans and threaten arrests unless purported tax debts aren’t paid immediately. At least 1.97 million people have been targeted, with as many as 200 victimized per week during the scam’s peak last year, according to the inspector general. Other frauds that made the Senate Aging Committee’s rankings include:
Source/more: USA Today
The IRS, Social Security Administration, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services never make phone calls asking for bank information or Social Security numbers.
The Senate report advised seniors and other Americans to never give out personal information by phone and always keep personal and financial documents secure.