Buffy Summers is a depressed, suicidal college drop out who works a minimum wage job to support her family and she still keeps fighting and that is so inspiring to me
Today I got called by someone claiming to be the IRS. They left three
identical
automated voicemail messages before I woke up, telling me that I needed to call them immediately and that it was urgent.
Upon calling them at the number they gave, I was told that due to some mistakes with my taxes there was a WARRANT FOR MY ARREST, and that if the matter was not solved DURING THAT PHONE CALL, police officers would come ARREST ME AT MY HOUSE in 30-35 minutes.
They used a bunch of scare tactics and sounded fairly convincing.
I told them I was going to verify with the police, hung up, and called the local police. Before I got out more than “Someone called me claiming to be the IRS–” the police officer said “Oh that’s a scam. The IRS will never call you on the phone.”
After talking to a handful of people about this today and looking it up on
the IRS website, here’s what I’ve learned:
The IRS will never call you on the phone about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
The IRS will never
ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
The IRS will never
threaten to bring any law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
The IRS will never
use email, texts or any social media to discuss your personal tax issue involving bills or refunds.
If the IRS has a problem with your taxes, you will be given months to handle to situation. The government does not call you and require immediate action. If someone is calling you requiring you to respond instantly, they are not the government. It’s a scam.
This one might be obvious but just in case: NEVER give out your Social Security Number over the phone, or in any other context unless it is absolutely vital.
These scam artists try to scare you into making fast choices based in panic and fear. If someone contacting you is trying to scare you into giving them money, they are not the government.
If you know anyone who has anxiety, English isn’t their first language, or who has reasons to be extra afraid of the threat of police, or any other reasons for this type of scam to be especially stressful or effective, please make sure you give them this information. Tell your friends, your siblings, your coworkers, your parents, your grandparents. Please spread this information.
Another variant claims to be from the treasury department.
The government LOVES paper trails. Phone contact is nearly never their preferred way of getting in contact with you, and those few exceptions are generally things where you made phone contact first (like using the phone application option for the national ACA health marketplace).
You know what, looking back on it, my friends and I survived the Bush Presidency
We would have survived a McCain Presidency
We would have survived a Romney Presidency
I honestly worry that there are some people who would not survive a Trump Presidency
I don’t care how much you love Gary Johnson, or Jill Stein. On November 8, 2016, one of two things will be true: either Hillary Clinton will be elected President, or Donald Trump will be elected President.
Which one, HONESTLY, would be worse?
This isn’t the year to “vote your conscience.”
There’s a fucking dangerous man one election away from being President.
This is the year to vote to survive.
Any other year, this would be an exaggeration. We survived Bush, we could have survived McCain or Romney. This year, Trump’s danger is no exaggeration.
Don’t vote your conscience, vote to survive.
We will not, not, NOT SURVIVE Trump.
The LGBT community will not survive.
The communities of middle eastern descent will not survive.
Women, especially women who want a right to choose, will not survive.
The black community will not survive.
The latino community will not survive.
The disabled community will not survive.
I guarantee that there are more groups.
We as a country will not survive a Trump-Pence Presidency
