Palatine police received a report on Tuesday of an incident of deception and fraud after an unknown subject called a Palatine resident and falsely identified himself as an Internal Revenue Service agent. The unknown caller claimed the victim owed past due taxes and threatened victim with prison time if immediate payment was not made.
The caller demanded that the victim make payment through Money-Pak cards and the victim complied. The total reported loss was $5,642.00.
Offenders are known to also fraudulently represent themselves as a utility company employee — advising a utility bill payment is past due. The caller claims the service will be terminated unless payment is made immediately. Acceptable forms of immediate payment are Green Dot “MoneyPak” cards purchased from a local convenience store or a valid credit card or bank account information. Once the account numbers from the MoneyPak, credit cards, or banks are provided, the scammer removes the funds associated with the MoneyPak or steals funds from the accounts.
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