My phone rang this morning at 6 AM.
Woken from sleep, I did not recognize the area code so I didn’t answer the phone. The caller left a voice mail, so I listened. A mean, scary voice said that this was my last chance in the criminal prosecution case against me…….GASP!
I knew it was a scam but it scared me anyway.
The Washington State Attorney General’s office has a Scam Alert page which you can check for the latest info. During tax season, there were scam “calls from the IRS” demanding immediate payment for taxes supposedly owed. Now the scam phone calls include threats of arrest for failing to appear for jury duty and various other scary, but false statements.
Pass the word, talk to your family, friends and neighbors about the Scary Scams and remind people that legal entities or the IRS do NOT phone up about issues, therefore the scary phone calls are false.
UPDATE: This news report of August 19, 2016 indicates that some phone carriers are working to stop the scary, automated phone calls and scams: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-robocalls-idUSKCN10U18L