(Quick Disclaimer - In the audio I link to in this post, there are a few F-Bombs, only a few, and they're all roughly in the same 30 seconds or so, I just wanted people to be aware of that. Other than that, it's a candid conversation with an IRS scammer, somewhat of a rare occurrence with these guys, I think he was new LOL)
Not too long ago I witnessed first-hand what these IRS scammers are capable of putting people through, I did not know the young lady who received the call on her cellphone while waiting in a long line at a bank (how ironic is that), but it quickly became very clear that she was NOT enjoying her phone call. I don't want to bore everyone with the details, and I want everyone to stick around long enough to listen to the audio I uploaded to SoundCloud of my conversation with one of these guys, so I'll make this quick.
Over the course of about ten minutes, this young lady's tone went from quiet and curious, to frustrated and assertive, to crying and hyperventilating, and all because she'd received a call from an IRS scammer, and she'd never heard of the scam before, so she fell for it hook, line, and sinker. It wasn't until she reached the point of near hysterics that others began to notice, but I'd been eavesdropping the best I could for awhile at this point, and not because I'm some creep, but because I could tell that this was NOT an ordinary bill collector.
Once she started freaking out, she lost all inhibitions and societal concerns for behaving rationally, and she had no problem speaking above a whisper, it was then that I knew she'd been called by a scumbag IRS scammer, I could tell by her responses to the man's questions.
Anyway, fast forward a few more minutes, I had to make sure I was right before I inserted myself into a situation like this, and once I was absolutely certain I was correct, and she was in fact being scammed, I was able to intervene and ultimately bring the whole scene down about ten notches. But I will NEVER forget how terrified this woman was, she truly believed that the IRS had issued an arrest warrant for her, and that her only way of not going to prison was to either pay them money, and A LOT of it, or go to court, and they really have a way of making ANY option other than paying seem incredibly frightening.
After that, I went online to see how big a problem this really is, and even though I knew it was probably pretty prevalent, I had no idea just how big a business it really is. Fast forward a few more months, and a new phenomenon hits the internet - It's called SCAM BAITING, and boy is it fun. It's a way of getting back at these bastards for all the damage they do, and some take it to an extreme level, just go to YouTube, you'll see what I mean there.
Anyway, the audio I'm going to link in this post, is just one example of how Scam Baiting works. You go online, you find yourself a list of actively reported scammer numbers, and there are a number of them online that list these in real-time for you, and then, YOU CALL THEM. The goal? Waste as much of their time as possible, because the more time they're on the phone with you, the less time they have to rob someone more gullible, like the woman in line at the bank that day.
With this call, as with all my Scam Baits, I had no script, I had no idea what was going to happen, and I liked doing it that way. I had already gotten A LOT of the more graphic, colorful, less "civilized" type Scam Baits all recorded and ready to go, and this time I knew I wanted to do something different. So, after the guy decided to stay with me on the phone, even after I threw a couple F-Bombs his way, I figured, Hey, maybe I can get some real answers out of this guy, might as well try right? So I backed off the aggression, and just started asking questions, and you know what? He answered them. And in the most honest way I've ever seen from a guy like this.
It's obvious by his answers that he's young, probably quite poor as he says he is, that's not an excuse, I'm just stating the reality of things for him, and so he's probably been drawn into this type of "work" by being fed a lot of bullsh*t stories about how much money he could make, versus, how much money we Americans have to lose, and he probably believes the answers he gives me, which are basically that they only rob rich people, and people that can afford to lose that money.
Anyway, decide for yourself, I created a Sound Cloud account just so I could link the audio for you guys, there aren't any appropriate tags for a post like this either, so I hope this finds the right people! Let me know what you think about this! Let me know if you've experienced anything like this in your lives... I hope not.
https://soundcloud.com/user-173970730/a-civil-conversation-with-a-maderchd