Scammer Tells EG Woman: "Lady, We are the Father of All Scammers"

Liza Ward of East Greenwich didn’t fall prey to the widespread scam that involves an “urgent” phone call from someone claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service with demand for payment of some sort.

Her phone rang on July 30 and a message was left from a man who said they needed to be contacted right away.

She called back and “they were suspicious,” she said. They said her husband was “in serious trouble.”

He needed to call them immediatley.

“I asked the issue and they screamed at me to just have him call ASAP.”

It was a number from the 202 area code. She looked online. Soon, she realized it clearly was a scam. Numerous articles explain the notorious “202 IRS” scam, including an account posted on Forbes.com which describes the heart-pounding feeling that there might be some serious financial problem exploding right at that moment.

But now, Ward’s eyebrows were raised.

She called the number and said her husband is an FBI agent. By now, she had spoken to three people all with foreign accents, and said her husband asked to keep them on the line so they could trace the call.

“Trey” told her: “Lady, you could trace us all day and you won’t catch us. We are the father of all scammers, and we have been doing this for 28 years!”

Ward isn’t taking their audacity sitting down. She now says she wants other East Greenwich friends and neighbors to be alert and take pause before panicking if a call from the “IRS” comes in.

When Ward did call her husband, he said he knew of two other friends in EG who have had similar calls.

“Just wanted to let my friends know not to give them any information, but give them a hard time, or maybe sing them a song!” Ward said.

East Greenwich Police have been logging dozens of scam related phone calls for months. Though most people are increasingly alert about scams and fraud risks and are more careful to protect their identities, there are still occasional victims.

The elderly are especially at risk.