Sheriff Warns Citizens About IRS Telephone Scam
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard County Sheriff // November 10, 2014
scam targets both home and cellular telephones
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA –Our agency was recently contacted by a citizen who made our Crime Prevention Team aware of a Telephone Scam that is targeting citizens disguised as a representative of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The scam targets both home telephones and cellular telephones by leaving an automated message that claims to be from the IRS. The message states “This is your final notice and we will be filing a lawsuit against you if you do not contact us immediately!”
A number starting with a (202) area code is left as a callback number with instructions to call to avoid the lawsuit.
If you happen to receive this type of call please do not attempt to contact the number they provide as this approach has been identified as a Nationwide Scam.
If you receive the call and actually speak to a real person please do not discuss or provide them with any type of information but instead simply disconnect as the longer you speak with a fraudster the more likely they are to extract important information from you.
As always thank you for sharing this important information with your family and friends.
If you have any further questions about this or other similar type scams please contact our Crime Prevention Unit at 321-264-7755.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft.
That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases. Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today.
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.
Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.
Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.
