As potential scams go, this one sounds a little, shall we say, unsophisticated?
Certainly, none of the group of Liveline listeners who phoned the show today was falling for it, amongst whom was Grainne McMahon.
“I got a call the day before yesterday from a crowd that put a recording on the phone saying it was the Revenue Commissioners and they were going to take a lawsuit against me.”
Grainne got off the phone and was a bit shocked, trying to think what she had done wrong. On the message, a phone number was left with a Dublin prefix and when her husband called, he got onto a guy with what Grainne describes as “an Indian accent”. In the background, there was “another Indian guy talking to somebody else.” And he immediately twigged it was a scam.
Intrigued, Grainne decided to call the telephone number again this morning, and she spoke to a man who came out with the following line.
“This is the Department of Ireland.”
When Grainne asked what he meant, he said. “The tax. Revenue.” After which he promptly hung up.
Another listener to the show, William King, called the same number and actually recorded the voice on the other end, a voice that seemed to imply that he was going to be “subject to a lawsuit”. A clear pattern being established here.
Although instructed initially to dial the number 1, he let it go through to the operator, and was confronted with a voice welcoming him to 'The Revenue Department of Ireland'. William's radar was immediately alerted and when he said he had never heard of that department, the guy on the other end of the phone hung up.
Another caller, David Nesbitt, had the same experience last Friday, with two missed calls on his landline at home. But this time, the number that was left was actually a real number of the Revenue Commissioners, who confirmed there was “a scam going around”, details of which are on their website.
If you’re a target of this scam, take a listen to the recording at the end of the clip in this article. It certainly seemed obvious to our listeners that this was far from above board.
But in the meantime, as Joe summarised, a few pieces of advice.
Firstly, The Revenue Commissioners (the real ones) are not ringing people threatening them with court proceedings. If they communicate with you, it will most likely be by post.
Secondly, never give your bank details out to unsolicited callers. This is what they are looking for.
Thirdly, there is a such thing as the Revenue Department of Ireland.
And as for a government agency called the Department of Ireland? Well, you decide.
To listen to the full show, click here.