Kay Bell, Fewer fake IRS agent scam calls following India’s raids. “In a typical week, the BBB says its Scam Tracker receives approximately 200 reports on tax scams. But that number dropped to just 11 reports of this scam during the week after the raids and arrests, nearly a 95 percent decline.”
More than two dozen people - including four in Texas - have been charged in a $300 million fraud scheme that federal authorities say operated from a network of call centers based in India.
Justice Department Charges 61 In India-Based Call Center Scam:
The callers in India, claiming to be officials with the Internal Revenue Service or immigration services, would present those who answered the phone with an ultimatum. Pay us, or we’ll fine you, deport you or arrest you. Their network was expansive, and their work lucrative. Justice Department officials announced charges against 61 people and entities Thursday and said the call center scheme had scammed at least 15,000 victims out of more than $250 million. Dozens of Individuals Indicted in Multimillion-Dollar Indian Call Center Scam Targeting U.S. Victims
Network experts studying the attack are also starting to rule out usual suspects, such as national governments and online blackmailers. That suggests, they said, the attack was another cry for attention by online attack-for-hire services and their customers looking to make a statement.
“All the arrows point away from any sort of political motivation,” which hurts “the nation-state argument,” said Allison Nixon, a researcher at online-security firm Flashpoint. “Of course, you never know until someone’s got handcuffs on them.”
Evidence instead points to the “loosely knit social circle of kids and young adults” who tend to launch similar attacks, Ms. Nixon said. Flashpoint called comments from online groups like WikiLeaks and the New World Hackers that claimed a connection to the attack “dubious.”
Review of the Enterprise E-Mail System Acquisition, September 30, 2016. Reference Number: 2016-20-080.
“The IRS purchased subscriptions for an enterprise e-mail system [Microsoft] that, as it turned out, it could not use.