Scam artist comes away empty after threatening Kennewick man

A persistent scam artist came away empty handed after he tried to bully a Kennewick man out of his money.

The caller, speaking in broken English and dialing in from a 360 area code, first claimed to be an IRS employee. He claimed the Kennewick man owed back taxes, and needed to pay with a debit or credit card.

The scammer used the victim’s Social Security number and his address during the call.

When the man refused, the caller threatened that Kennewick police would be on their way.

The resident hung up, and a few minutes later the scammer was back on the phone, this time appearing to call Kennewick’s police station.

The crook claimed to be an officer and made the same threat. The resident hung up.

“This is a common scam, where the scammers ‘spoof’ a phone number, so it appears a call is coming from another location or phone number,” said Mike Blatman, Kennewick’s crime prevention specialist. “In fact, the same incidents were reported here in June and July this year.”

Neither Kennewick police nor the IRS will ask for money over the phone for any reason, he said.

The IRS also does not ask for immediate payment. Tax officials also give people a chance to question the amount.

If you get a call like this, Blatman recommended hanging up. You should periodically check credit reports and bank statements for suspicious activity. You also can receive a free credit report from Experian by going to freecreditreport.com.

If the caller knows your Social Security number, you can request a new number from the Social Security Administration.

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Scam artist comes away empty after threatening Kennewick man."