Lubbock police were called out to a neighborhood in southwest Lubbock just after 9:30 Monday morning in the 4900 block of 115th Street. However, there was no kidnapping.
Police, through its investigation, was able to determine that an IRS scam call center made the 911 call to police.
The owner of the home said he had been the target of IRS scam calls before. He believed that was the source of the fake kidnapping report. The homeowner did not want to on camera for a news report.
In the 911 call, the scammer accused the owner of the home of being the alleged kidnapper. Police, including a K-9 unit responded to the scene.
Police warn that phone scammers will do anything to trick or scare people into giving them money. Scammers are constantly changing their techniques as well making it difficult to spot them.
“If you decide to pick up the phone and it’s someone you don’t recognize, don’t engage in that conversation. It’s okay to hang up. You don’t need to engage in that conversation,” said LPD spokeswoman, Kasie Whitley.
The South Plains Better Business Bureau seconds that, telling their customers to hang up immediately.
“Don’t involve yourselves in any dialogue with the scammers,” said CEO and President of the South Plains Better Business Bureau office, Greg Linder. “Don’t try and tell them that you know they’re a scammer because that can cause situations to escalate to something like this. It’s best to break off all contact once you know what they’re trying to get from you.”
It’s important to remember that no one from the IRS will ever call you. If they need to contact you, it would be through the mail.
“You’ll never going to get called and threatened and told to show up at the Walmart parking lot with a pre-paid debit card or certified check or something like that,” said CPA Mark Dickson. “That’s just not how the IRS works.”
Scammers don’t just work on the phone either. They can try and contact you through e-mail and social media platforms. If you’re not sure if it’s a scam or not, you’re encouraged to call the Better Business Bureau to help verify if the call is legitimate.
