Two women in Los Angeles County have been arrested- accused of perpetrating a scheme in which callers pose as IRS agents and bilk unsuspecting victims out of gift cards, reports NBC Los Angeles.
Authorities say they confiscated $1 million dollars in electronics and gift cards during their investigation which culminated in the arrests of Ailing Lu, 25, of Los Angeles and Ji Hyun Lee, 25 of Gardena. The two allegedly scammed hundreds of victims.
Callers phone their targets telling them they owe money to the IRS and unless they sent them $2200 in gift cards, they would be arrested.
According to Fox11 , authorities have surveillance video of the women redeeming the gift cards at Target. Among the evidence confiscated is electronics equipment and watches.
“We have things from iPads to iWatches to cameras,” said Officer Richard Guerrero to NBC LA.
“No law enforcement agency is going to threaten you with arrest and have you pay for these alleged consequences with gift cards, including the IRS,” he said.
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RE: Two women in LA arrested in IRS call scam: Disgraceful. Hope they enjoy their jail time.
RE: Two women in LA arrested in IRS call scam: I hope those b*tches serve long jail terms. I get sick of all these scams all the time interrupting me in the middle of the day!!
RE: Two women in LA arrested in IRS call scam: For sure those two will get what they probably deep down already knew was coming for them. Crimes never last. Hell no !! Not here!! And how stupid to use the IRS as the disguise! But cmon how stupid also can a civilian be to believe that you can payoff a debt to the IRS or any major company with gift cards?!?!?!? I mean shade all around should have been obvious….
RE: Two women in LA arrested in IRS Call Scam: As long as I R S been around, by now everyone knows how they work. Who in they’re right mind think the government is going to asked for gift cards?? Secondly did you do your taxes? Then how is a phone call telling you how much you owe? And send the gift card where? Was it sent to the official address of the IRS? Lord help us today!
This is a variation of a scam in which the caller asks for payment in pre-loaded debit cards. The IRS has been warning about this for several years. The scammers call tens of thousands of people, usually through a robocall. They’ve learned if you call enough people, someone will fall for it.
RE: Two women in LA arrested in IRS call scam: America needs to realize that if people in general had a fair shot at real success, crimes such as this wouldn’t happen. The wealthy stay comfortable by controlling the cost of living. The manner in which they price things limits the ability of an average employee to prosper. The owners of the businesses keep us out of their neighborhoods this way. It’s actually much bigger than the example I gave.
RE: Two women in LA arrested in IRS call scam: One of the girls is KOREAN. Jesus, I know this is a volunteer site but put some effort in your work or don’t do it at all.
RE: Two women in LA arrested in IRS call scam: Thanks, Tom. Please cite a source and we will gladly make a correction.