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West Michigan woman loses $2,000 in IRS scam

Scared of being arrested, the woman went to Dollar General and bought over $2,000 worth of Google Play gift cards.

The IRS scam continues to find victims in West Michigan.

A Byron Center woman says she fell for it and wants others to be aware that it’s still going on.

It started with a call that claimed to be from the IRS. The caller had a foreign accent. The person said she was from the IRS and told the woman she owed $6,250. If she did not pay immediately, she would be arrested.

"They wanted me to go to the nearest IRS center, which is 89 miles away,” said the woman. She could hear typing after that. Then the scammer said she could go to Dollar General and get $500 in gift cards.

Scared of being arrested, the woman went to Dollar General and bought over $2,000 worth of Google Play gift cards. She scratched off the numbers and read it to the woman on the phone. The caller still wanted more money. "I said you are just irritating me. I have to go. She said we'll call you at 3:30. When they call you back, they say we need another $3,000."

Fortunately, the woman's credit card stopped working. The bank flagged it as potential fraud. After talking to someone at the credit card company and someone from 13 ON YOUR SIDE, the woman realized the IRS call was a scam.

"I want everybody to know it's a scam and it’s still out there. I'm 56 and got caught in it. It’s not just for seniors. I fell for it and I should've known better."

The IRS says it will never call someone and threaten them with arrest. If you do get a similar call, hang up and do not call back.

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