Fool Him Once, Shame On You
An unnamed man in Farmington Hills, Mich., got a call from the Internal Revenue Service. He owed $3,854 in back taxes, the caller said, but criminal charges would be dropped if he sent the money immediately — directly to the caller in the form of gift cards. The man complied. A short time later, the man got a second call. “Sheriff Bouchard” informed the man that he owed $4,560 in taxes; Mike Bouchard is indeed the sheriff of the county, but the man was suspicious enough to check with the sheriff’s office. They assured him that the calls — including the one from the IRS — were fake, and that he had been conned. “The U.S. government, the city of Farmington Hills, or any other government agency is not going to contact you this way,” a Farmington Hills Police spokesman said. (RC/Detroit Free Press) ...On the bright side, that $3,854 is tax-deductible.Original Publication Date: 02 February 2014
This story is in True’s book collections, in Volume 20.
This story is in True’s book collections, in Volume 20.
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