Getting Scammed

I was listening to a news program on National Public Radio today, and during the course of the broadcast one of those six or eight minute human interest segments came on.

It seems a lady Marriage and Family Therapist received a call just prior to her rigorous schedule of ten one hour sessions.

We join Dr. Devine as she describes the dialogue of which she was an unwilling participant.

“Hello, this is special agent Joe Whitaker of the Internal Revenue Service. Is this Dr. Devine?”

“Yes. Yes, it is. May I help you?”

“Yes, Dr. Devine. According to our records you are currently in arrears to the IRS for $12,223.16. I have the authority to demand immediate payment. This is to inform you that you must immediately wire the foregoing amount to our regional office. Our address is ( ______________________ ). We have contacted a representative of your local police, and failure to forward the exact amount in the next 30 minutes will result in the Daytona Beach Police Department issuing a warrant for your arrest.”

To say the good counselor was surprised would have been an understatement.

Ultimately, the therapist acquiesced, brought up the Western Union website, typed in her name, home address, cell phone and office phone numbers, a multitude of digits representing her credit card number, and tapped the “send” icon; while balancing her cell phone between her chin and shoulder.

With this, she assured Mr. Whitaker that the money was on its way, and that she expected to receive a confirmation shortly. As a result, the IRS agent requested she stay on the line, and inform him when she received that confirmation.

Suddenly, Ms. Devine’s office phone rang. Picking it up, and placing it against her unoccupied ear, she was greeted by a foreign accent.

“Is this Dr. Devine? This is Samuel Singh. I see you just requested Western Union wire $12,223.16 to the following address ( _______________________ ). Is this correct?”

As the good therapist struggled to maintain a conversation with two different parties, the East Indian continued,

“Dr. Devine. We have reason to believe that the so-called IRS agent who contacted you is a fraud, and I would urge you to reconsider wiring him or her any money.”

(and)

“Only today, we have received 20 requests such as yours to wire cash to persons whom we believe are not affiliated with the Internal Revenue Service.”

(and)

“You apparently don’t know that the IRS never contacts persons by phone, nor requests an immediate transfer of money. And they certainly don’t threaten their debtors with incarceration.”

Dr. Devine struggled to make sense of two contrasting versions of reality. To which voice should she respond? 

However, the decision was made for her.

“Hello. Hello? Are you there, Mr. Whitaker?”

The unsuspecting therapist had almost been taken in by one of the most transparent, but successful scams in use today.

Remind me not to enlist Dr. Devine for guidance about my life, marriage, vocation or finances, and definitely not

… assistance with my taxes!

 By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary," Vol. 36. Copyright pending

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