Ron Sanyal said it starts with a random call, and the caller gets rather threatening, hoping to cash in on fear.
"This message is to make you aware we have an affidavit against you name and your SSS" was left on the voicemail that caught Ron's attention. "The matter is very sensitive. If you fail to call me you are responsible for further legal mess," it said.
Ron knew something wasn't right.
"If you don't call, it's a threat that it will be a big mess. I lived here 35 years. I'm not afraid of anything as I haven't broken any laws," Ron said.
He googled the call back number to see what he could find.
"There was a laundry list of complaints and confessions," Ron said.
Just in the last two weeks, lots of people claim to have gotten the same threatening call. They shared their experience online and many said the scammer told them he was with the State Investigations Department. Others wrote that the scammer said he was an IRS agent. The common theme among posters was that the caller sternly told them they were in legal trouble and needed to send money.
Ron knew not to send any money because it was a scam, but he worries about those who might actually take the threats seriously.
"I just want people to be careful, don't panic. Especially senior citizens, please if you live alone as your son ask your daughter, ask your friends," Ron said.
Senior citizens are often the target. Just this week, an elderly Cumberland County woman sent her life savings, more than $100,000 to someone who called her and told her she won the foreign lottery. Investigators said the caller kept telling her she had to wire the money for taxes in order to collect her prize.
The Cumberland County Sheriff's Department said they were able to trace the calls to Jamaica and are investigating.
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