Princeton police are warning the public of recent reports of Green Dot MoneyPak scams targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, throughout the country.
Victims are told they owe money to the IRS or to other government agencies and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card like a Green Dot MoneyPak card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting.
Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves. Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security number.
Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it is the IRS calling. Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls. Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.
After threatening victims with jail time or driver’s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim, according to the IRS.
Anyone who receives a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS should call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS employees at that line can help with a payment issue — if there really is such an issue.
Those who are not sure if a call or an email is a scam should call the Princeton Police Department at 609-921-2100 and choose option No. 3 to speak with a detective before sending any money to anyone.
The IRS encourages taxpayers to be vigilant against phone and email scams that use the IRS as a lure. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels.
The IRS also does not ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts. Recipients should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, forward the email to phishing@irs.gov.
More information on how to report phishing scams involving the IRS is available on the genuine IRS website, IRS.gov.
Go to www.moneypak.com/protectyourmoney.aspx for more crime prevention information concerning these scams.
For information regarding these and other fraudulent activity in our area, go to www.princetonnj.gov/police/ and click on the "Crime Prevention" link on the upper left.
