Be Brave Not Safe

Ah, there is nothing like listening to a “disturbing” voicemail message from a call that you missed while mountain biking, on your birthday.

The message went something like: “This is an official notification that the IRS is filing a lawsuit against you.”

After my stomach initially dropped a few inches I quickly regrouped and acknowledged that this is likely a scam.

Thankfully, we have the virtually unlimited resource called the internet to do some very quick cyber-sleuthing to confirm this.

First, I googled “IRS filing a lawsuit” and up came a number of results pointing me to IRS.gov, which clearly explained that this is a scam. And, even more comforting was their indication that they always notify the taxpayer of any issues by mail (not phone).

Second, I went to Whitepages.com and used their reverse phone number lookup feature. After plugging in the number that called me, up came the following screen, indicating that the number has been “Flagged as IRS Scam”.

And, to protect me (my nerves) from any follow-up calls that this fine establishment might make, I simply used the “Block Caller” feature on my iPhone so that I shall NEVER hear from them again.

In summary, realize there are very convincing dirtbags out there that want to take us for everything we are worth. When receiving a disturbing call (or voicemail) you are encouraged to do the appropriate research to confirm they are legit before providing ANY information (or even calling them back).

The above steps took me all of 2 minutes to clear my head and get back to enjoying my birthday 🙂

Now, off to dinner with Cindy!

Have a great day!