IRS Scam Warning - Agent David Parker/Barker/Barjer UPDATED August 22, 2014

As you can probably tell from my blog and how it's changed over the years, I have become disabled in far too many ways, so I don't always think as quickly as I use to. You can imagine how it felt when I answer the phone with a Washington D.C. number (202-241-1885) and am told that it's the IRS and there is a federal warrant for the arrest of my husband and myself for miscalculations on our 2006 and 2007 taxes! Plus the government felt that we were sending money to family outside the country to hide assets. We have no family outside the country. We haven't been outside the country in over a decade, except to go to Canada for a couple days vacation last year for our 25th anniversary. My husband traveled the world with the Marines and I visited Paris, France for a week for our first anniversary 25 years ago.

The person on the other end had a thick Middle Eastern accent and claimed that he was Agent David Barjer, and his badge number was #732. Randy was on his way home from work (an hour away) and you know how impossibly unreliable cell service is in this rural area. There are more dead zones than WiFi spots on the drive. I couldn't reach him if my life depended on it.

This man demanded that I go to a store while he was on the phone with me and purchase an EFDBS card in the amount of $1,451 and that an attorney would be at my door to give me the documents and pick up the card. I wasn't thinking because I was completely hysterical at this point. I don't have $1,451! I don't think I could come up with $451 in an hour that he was demanding it in. He claimed he would stay on the line with me the entire time until his associate arrived and the money was transferred. I would also have to show our Drivers' licenses as well as our Passports and our tax returns from those years. I told him it was impossible, I had no money, I was disabled. Then he said that my unemployment and Social Security payments are taxable and I hadn't reported any of that. I tried to tell him I don't receive either of those, but he didn't care. Even though my neck is fused, a nerve in my left leg was cut during the repair of my meniscus and walking more than a few feet at a time is torture, I have constant migraines and the pain is unstoppable. There are other problems, but I don't feel comfortable talking about them in public.

At this point, he demanded my husband's cellphone number and I asked him if he knew where we lived. There was no way he could reach Randy on a cellphone. He said he would call back in an hour and my husband had better be there with the information and money he required. I know now he just wanted more of our personal information. Getting those ID numbers and our Social Security numbers as well as our children's Social Security numbers would give them four people to steal their identification.

I couldn't reach Randy after the man hung up. I was shaking and crying and completely hysterical. I called my 19-year old son Trevor and he came running to help me because I was crying too hard to make any sense. When he got here, he told me to call 9-1-1. I did that and told them what happened and they said it didn't sound right to them. I wasn't to delete the Called ID Number or any other evidence I might have on this crime. The woman said she would have the local police call me or come to my home if I needed them, should anyone show up at my door. I said a phone call would be ok, my son was here and my husband would be home soon and I was safe. Trevor had calmed me down at that point. He got on line and typed in the "agents" name and found a list a mile long that it is a scam.

Randy got home at this point. I was still crying, so he calmed me down and returned the call. He was not amused at the conversation. The "agent" suddenly changed his name to Agent David Parker and there was Agent Richard Parker who answered the call. (They must be fans of the movie The A-Team where the CIA all had the same name) The conversation was not calm because Randy was furious that anyone would treat me the way this "person" did. He's very protective of me. Randy said to this "agent" to begin with, the tax forms were beyond the statute of limitations to even be considered legitimate. Then he never received any paperwork on this. The "agent" claimed that we did get them and Randy tore them up and threw them away. Randy laughed at this and asked how they knew this and if they went through our garbage to find them? The man said they had done this and found the paperwork. I have three cats, so I think it's hysterical to think of this cretin going through our garbage filled with the cat litter to find anything. If you have ever cleaned a cat's litter box, you know what I'm talking about. It wouldn't be pleasant.

At this point, the "agent" started getting angry because Randy had him and he knew it was just a scam. He demanded that Randy "SHUT UP and LISTEN TO WHAT WILL HAPPEN." He said he will be sending a federal warrant to our local police immediately. Randy told him, "I dare you to send it! Do it right now! I have the right to have my case heard in court and our taxes are prepared by H&R Block who will defend us if there was a miscalculation." The man wouldn't stop screaming at Randy didn't understand what will happen to him if he didn't listen. Randy had enough and just told him he would be waiting for this attorney to show up with the paperwork and the warrant to arrive. Our local police know where we lived and we knew them well.

Randy called our police department back and explained what had happened. The officer said that it sounded very much like a scam and to not give them any information or money. He started laughing when Randy told him about going through our garbage to find paperwork. He said there was no warrant for our arrest, but he'd be sure to give us a call if something came through. The officer was very good about this and made sure that I was ok because he knew I wasn't well and he could hear me crying in the background. Even though I had figured out it was a scam by this point, I was still worked up.

This morning as I was packing Randy's lunch and getting his things ready for the day, I was thinking about this. I know that I don't have hundreds of readers (yet), but even if I help one person from being scammed, it's worth it to me. I wanted to write this as a warning to other people.

I know if someone called my elderly mother~in~law and did this to her, she would give them the money immediately because she would be so scared. My son moved in with her last year when he started college to help take care of her and make sure she is safe and nobody can take advantage of her. We all love her very much. I can see any elderly person or a disabled person or even a younger person with less experience with the IRS paying these scam artists. If they call 10 people a day and even 2 pay, that's $3,000! I'm sure they make more than that and there are a roomful of these scammers calling people at random. They could be raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.

If you get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and they demand money immediately, DO NOT PAY. DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY INFORMATION. It is a scam. The IRS doesn't call people and extort money from them like this and they do not go through your garbage. They will send you paperwork in the mail that you have to sign for and then they may call you, but they have to treat you with respect and they are not allowed to scream at a person or bully them. You have the right to have your day in court. Our Constitution and our Bill of Rights guarantees this. The IRS phone number is 1~800~829~1040.

If you receive a call from these scammers, please let me know. I want to keep this updated to help stop them.

You are not going to believe this one. Last night the phone rings and it's from SAME WASHINGTON DC NUMBER! Randy answers the phone and the same idiot tells him there is a federal warrant out for his arrest from the IRS for a miscalculation. What was he going to do about it? "I'm going to ignore it and you," he calmly tells them. He's doing his best not to laugh while the guy is clearly sputtering about prison and on and on. He gives them a few more seconds, then hangs up.

These guys are clearly well-organized scammers, but they are dumber than a bag of horse slobber! Wouldn't you write down or somehow keep track of the people you have already called and run your scam on? I can see that idiot "Agent" looking dumb-founded that anyone would talk to an "IRS AGENT" like that! :-} Will let you know when he calls again.

26 years ago

In a hotel not very far away from our current home, I woke up for the first time as Mrs. Randy Rokosky. WOW! Where did my other name go? We got together literally 2 days before I was leaving for college in upsate NY. He was a US Marine stationed in NC and had been one since he graduated from high school. He was home on leave. We knew each other from school, he was 2 years ahead of me. We were friends and had a lot of the same friends. He was even our paperboy and lived just a few blocks from me! We worked on chemistry homework together a few times in high school and went for drives. Just friends, except for one time he kissed me. I NEVER forgot that kiss. It was one of those kisses that goes right to your toes, but he had a girlfriend at the time and was leaving for boot camp, so it didn't go any further that time.

My mom said she always knew he would be back some day and it would be forever. I honestly never expected it. My dearest friend and I were uptown, just spending the last weekend of our time together. She was leaving for cosmetology school in Erie and I would be in NY. I also had a boyfriend at the time, but when that dashing Marine looked at men and asked if I wanted a drive home, that was it. I couldn't imagine being with any other man. I got more of those toe~curling kisses. I had to break up with my long~time boyfriend that night. It wasn't easy and he was furious, wanted to come down and beat up my soul mate. I told him to just let it go. He didn't have a chance, it was over.

Randy and I wrote and called constantly and I finally flew down for a weekend visit. I had never been on a plane or traveled alone before, but he was worth the fear I had. He drove home for weekends as often as he could and when I didn't fly down there, I took the bus. Being a very tiny, size 1, blonde girl traveling all alone to the South was scary at time, but I had my Marine and those kisses to think about.

We had fun when we were together, so when he asked me, "Will you marry me?" There was no way I could say no. We were so young! I was 20 and he was 22. I couldn't even buy a drink, but I could get married. I have been with him my entire adult life and even though it hasn't always been easy (nothing that is truly worth it is ever easy, is it?), we are still together and I'm still getting those kisses.