Sep 4, 2015
Same deal. It's a scam.
In the voicemail the person (fairly thick foreign accent) said it was "the investigations department" (they did not mention the IRS) and that a complaint has been filed against me. The message said I had better call them back at 718-710-4601 or they would have to send my files to the courthouse.
The 347 number on the caller ID is a New York City cell phone number, and 718 is a land line number in Queens, but if you Google it you find out that it's actually a Skype number of scam artists in India.
I called them back, not even one ring and the exact same person picked up the phone. Ever try calling the IRS? They don't pick up like that. We only wish they weren't so overloaded that they could. I asked her to identify what company she was with. She said "This is the IRS investigations department."
The IRS doesn't call people, but if they did call people they would give you an 800 number and the caller would also provide a badge number--though scammers may do that too. If there were a case against you, any kind of case, there would be a petition number and they would have to provide that. You would also have to be served the petition in a very specific manner.
They also wouldn't send a complaint 'to the courthouse' because the IRS is a federal agency. There would be a hell of a lot more steps involved in taking you to court for back taxes or tax fraud.
More likely you've been to 'the court house' because you had a case, maybe Housing Court, maybe a utility bill that was long overdue or you just forgot about before you moved, maybe you signed up for a gym membership which they claim is uncancelable and you refused to pay so a collection agent filed the petition hoping you would rather pay than show your face in court, and because those are public records they were able to gather enough information to try to scam you.
Don't worry. You're not being investigated, audited, or otherwise.
And let me tell you, I did owe back taxes to the IRS once. They didn't take me to court. They sent me letters for about two years when I was going through a financial crisis, and finally garnered what little I was earning at the time in very reasonable installments. I was outright glad they did it.
No worries. Ignore these guys.