A phone scam in which fraudsters claim to be from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and demand money for unpaid taxes has targeted thousands of Americans nationwide since August, said the IRS's watchdog on Thursday.
According to Reuters, more than 20,000 complaints from people, including recent immigrants, about the scam have been received, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) said.
More than $1 million has been collectively paid by thousands of victims to the scammers, TIGTA said.
"This is the largest scam of its kind that we have ever seen," said J. Russell George, the head of TIGTA in a statement.
In order for the victim's phone caller ID to be manipulated, the fraudsters are able to display the number of a local IRS office, TIGTA said.
"In some cases, the fraudsters have also told victims parts of their Social Security numbers," Reuters reported. "In cases where victims hung up, fraudsters have called back displaying a local police phone number on caller ID, TIGTA said."
Threatened with deportation, potential victims have been worried about their immigration status, TIGTA said.
By following a uniform script, they have been able to scam people in almost every other state, a senior TIGTA official said on a conference call with reporters.
Also, the public has an easy access to technology that helps in manipulating caller ID displays.
Companies that provide voice-over-the-Internet call services, as well as, major phone companies have been warned about the scam, the official said.
"Claudia Hill, a licensed tax preparer in Cupertino, California, said that in one week last month, four of her clients complained of such scam calls. Before this year, none of her clients had previously mentioned phone scams, said Hill, who said she prepares about 1,000 tax returns a year," Reuters reported.
"The IRS is not proactive enough in getting out in front of any of this mess," she said.
