OCSO Deputy Records Call Of IRS Scammers To Raise Awareness

An Oklahoma County deputy was threatened with an arrest recently, by scammers claiming to be with the IRS.

Instead of hanging up, as most law enforcement will advise, Corporal Bradley Wynn played along and captured the 20-minute exchange on video in hopes of helping others.

Wynn identified himself as Bradley “Smith” and gave the jail's address as his own. The woman on the other line said there were multiple warrants for his arrest, and she put a man on the line to collect the cash. Both had heavy foreign accents. The man told him he owed $6,800 in back-taxes, and asked him how much money he had in his checking and savings accounts, prying for a “boulevard figure” instead of the colloquial “ballpark figure”.

“They fumbled over their words,” said Wynn. “They were using inappropriate English terminology, so I knew that this wasn’t from the IRS.”

The scammer then instructed Wynn to immediately get in his car and drive to 5400 N May Avenue to make his payment. That address is the Target closest to the jail, where the scammer wanted Wynn to load all of his money onto a Visa gift card.

Instead, Wynn kept the call going for 20 minutes before the big reveal, telling the man at the other end of the line who he is and that he would arrest the man right away if he was in Oklahoma.

Wynn and the sheriff’s office posted the video online so others can be aware.

He says education is the only way to protect yourself from this ever-growing trend.

“This is a lucrative industry,” Wynn said. “They do it often enough that it makes them a lot of money, so they will keep doing it.”

The sheriff’s office wants to remind the public that failure to pay taxes is not a criminal offense, and the federal agency will never call you. The IRS can, however, take you to civil court for money you owe.

To see the video of Wynn’s phone call in full, click here.