IRS special agent in charge shares tips after Pennsylvania woman falls victim to scam

Fraud schemes keep getting more sophisticated, and criminals are keeping seniors in their sights. But a special agent in charge at the IRS tells KDKA people can take action to protect themselves, their information and their money.

In the case of a Mount Lebanon woman who was scammed, it all started on her laptop with a bright pop-up screen and a loud alarm sound. 

"They said that they had found child pornography on her computer," said the woman's daughter, who didn't want to reveal her identity because she said her mother feels humiliated. "They wanted to help her get this taken care of and removed so that she wouldn't get into trouble."

The victim's daughter said scammers talked her mother into withdrawing $18,000 in small bills from her bank and sending it via a Bitcoin machine.

It all happened while she sat in a work meeting, unable to pick up her phone.

"They are getting them very scared and afraid that something terrible is going to happen, and they're taking advantage of them, and they're taking advantage of their trust," the woman's daughter said. 

She said her mother's still living with the embarrassment, even though she's active and has her wits about her.

"But when you have this other person that's talking at you and scaring you and telling you you're going to be in legal trouble and things like that, you panic," her daughter said. 

Red flags that you're being scammed

That rush to act quickly is a red flag, and the IRS wants it to give people pause.

"The reason why they're going after people that are older is because they're more trustworthy," said Special Agent in Charge Yuriy Kruty of the IRS' Philadelphia field office. 

Kruty said he can't even believe the amount of fraud and sophisticated cases they're seeing lately.

"One of the biggest ones is government impersonation where somebody reaches out and tells you that they're with the government and you owe money to the court or you had a speeding ticket 10 years ago and if don't pay it now, you'll get arrested tomorrow," Kruty said.

"We have other ones where folks get contacted by a bank, and they assume there's something wrong with the bank account and they're going to lose all their money," Kruty added. 

Tips for protecting yourself from scams

Kruty shared these tips: Always verify someone's identity. Ask for a business card. Ask for an email address. If someone's really with the IRS, they will have a ".gov" email address. 

"We have agents that show up and one of the biggest things that I'm thankful for, they'll say, 'I don't want to speak to you right now, leave me your business card, and let me reach out,'" said Kruty. "They'll call the local police department, and we get calls from detectives all the time saying, 'Hey, do you have an agent by this name that came into this person's house, and are they legitimate?'"

And Kruty's No. 1 tip to protect people from these sorts of scams: communication. 

"Talk to your family, talk to your loved ones, make them aware that, 'Hey, if anything suspicious comes in, an email, a phone call, or even if somebody comes to your house, just tell them you'll get back to them.'"

The IRS also shared a pamphlet with tips to keep in mind. You can find them below.