CrimeBeat: Is that the IRS calling? Listen in as a Petaluma officer confronts a scammer

CrimeBeat Q&A is a weekly feature win which police reporter Julie Johnson answers readers' questions about local crimes and the law.

Can the IRS arrest me for unpaid taxes?

Not if you buy iTunes gift cards to settle the debt.

Sound absurd?

Most people know it's a tactic used by ne'er-do-wells pretending to be with the IRS. The caller threatens with fines, lawsuits and arrest if the taxpayer doesn't settle the debt on the phone. The caller says they can't take cash, but they have a special agreement with Apple to use iTunes gift cards to pay tax bills.

Most people have hung up the phone by this point in the call.

But some people do pay, which is why the calls don't stop, Petaluma Police Sgt. Ed Crosby said. Last spring, a 24-year-old Petaluma woman spent $4,000 on iTunes gift cards to settle a supposed tax debt.

“People get afraid, ‘What if I'm wrong, what if this is legit?'” Crosby said. “They err on the side of caution in their own mind, then it's too late.”

Crosby said there's nothing a local police department can do to get the money back.

The IRS has repeatedly warned taxpayers about robo calls and email phishing scams.

The IRS will never:

- Call to demand immediate payment

- Threaten arrest on the phone

- Demand payment without giving the taxpayer an opportunity to question the bill

- Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

Petaluma police received a slew of reports last week from residents complaining about similar phone call scams. Crosby said the callers usually hit a region in waves.

Crosby said he's no expert on how gift cards benefit criminals. He's been told some criminal enterprises use smartphone apps like mobile messaging programs to avoid detection and surveillance.

On Thursday, Crosby spent about 13 minutes on the phone with an “Officer Ricardo Phun” who claimed to work with the IRS. Crosby was posing as a resident who had received a phone message from Phun demanding money for back taxes.

“It was the classic IRS scam. He threatened to arrest me within two hours, said he had an arrest warrant,” Crosby said. “You can hear a call center in the background and you can hear “IRS, IRS” in the background.”

Phun told Crosby he owned “a little more than $6,200” and said “we did not make a decision if you are an innocent person or a fraudulent person.” He threatened to send the local police to arrest him, to freeze his bank accounts and put a lien “on all your properties.”

The phone call ended when Phun realized the phone number Crosby gave him was the Police Department's main number.

Listen to the call below. Be forewarned Officer Ricardo Phun curses twice at the end.

Submit your questions about crime, safety and criminal justice to Staff Writer Julie Johnson at julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.