Scott Parker of Frazier Park came to The Mountain Enterprise office about an IRS scam phone number and robocall. He said he had received a message saying he owes the IRS money. The call came in at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10.

Parker first went to the Kern County Sheriff’s substation. KCSO said there is nothing they can do, but asked if the newspaper could run an article warning people not to be fooled by these calls, reports the newspaper’s office manager, Susanne Green.

Lee Benda of Piñon Pines described a similar call he received earlier this week.

As many are aware, data for about 76 million people who bank online or with apps was stolen from Chase Bank customers and several other banks in cyberattacks announced this month. Thieves are reported to have acquired names, addresses and phone numbers, but no account information, the banks say.

Authorities advise the public to watch for unusual calls and email ‘phishing’ schemes as thieves try to use the stolen information to access your funds. Hang up on strange calls and delete strange emails. Don’t open attachments if you do not know the person who sent them.

Scott Parker called the phone number left by the message: 415.234.9581. That area code is from the San Francisco region. A man with an “East Indian accent” asked him to verify an address where Scott had lived about 10 years ago. When Scott said the address was 10 years old, the man hung up.

Parker called the man back several times, and the man hung up on him each time, he said.

–Compiled from notes by S. Green

This is part of the October 17, 2014 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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