1 Front
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Serving Bureau County Since 1847
NEWSSTAND PRICE 75¢
Scam: This is the IRS calling! ‘This is a multi-million dollar business’ By Zita Henneberry zhenneberry@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — The Princeton Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies have received numerous complaints from citizens about calls from IRS impersonators demanding money. This is a huge scam being run throughout the country, said Princeton Police Chief Thomas Root. “This is multi-million dollar business,” Root said. These IRS-impersonation telephone scams are aggressive and sophisticated. They may seem very convincing, as the caller often knows a lot about their targets and uses fake names and fake IRS identification badge numbers. These scammers can seem very legitimate; they copy information directly from the IRS, said Root. Root explained the scammers are generally targeting the elderly, disabled and mentally disadvantaged. Victims may be told they owe money, however, they also may be told they have a refund due in order to trick victims into sharing private information. While most scam action is being done by telephone or mail, scammers may come to a victim’s home demanding payment. This can be dangerous, said Root. Root urges people to call local law enforcement or other agencies to verify an IRS claim’s legitimacy before acting. “The big thing is to not take any immediate action on this at all, and do not remove money (from bank accounts),” said Root. The callers claim charges will be filed if money is not sent promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If victims do not cooperate, they are threatened with arrest, deportation, suspension of a business, or suspension
of a driver’s license. Scammers often leave an urgent callback request when the phone is left unanswered or become hostile and insulting when people do not cooperate. Root advised people to ask for a return number, so they may verify a claim is legitimate. He said scammers will not call back or give a valid number if a person does this. If the scammers are at a victim’s home, he said to ask them to wait outside while the claims are verified. “Never ever let these people into the house, I don’t care who they are,” said Root. Local law enforcement agencies warn Bureau County residents the IRS will never call to demand an immediate payment. The IRS will not call about taxes owed without previously having mailed a bill. They will also never demand that someone pay taxes without giving him or her the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say is owed. The IRS will never require someone to use a specific payment method for taxes, such as a prepaid debit card. They do not ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone. The IRS would not threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have a person arrested for not paying claims, as the scammers have. “If you have an instinct where it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t,” said Root. He encourages people to not take immediate action on any IRS claims without verifying them first. He also asks victims to report these calls to their local law enforcement agencies as soon as possible. For more information about this and other recent scams, go to the Internal Revenue Service website at www.irs.gov. Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.
BCR photo/Becky Kramer
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... Madi Rahberg and Emma Spayer look at the Christmas trees being auctioned off at Upscale Resale during Spring Valley’s Christmas in the Valley, held Saturday. The Christmas open house included a host of fun holiday-themed activities. See more weekend events on Page 2.
The cost of the 911 crunch
Loss of landlines means less money for 911 systems By Goldie Currie and Shannon Serpette news@bcrnews.com
With landlines going the way of the dinosaur, 911 budgets throughout the state have felt the crunch. Disappearing landlines mean less revenue for 911 systems because landlines carry higher 911 sur-
charges than cell phones do. Bureau County’s 911 agency, BuEComm (Bureau Emergency Communications), has been tracking the ongoing trend of decreasing landlines since opening its doors in 2006. The movement has taken a toll on its finances as they depend solely on
surcharges received each month from residents’ landlines and wireless lines. Currently, BuEComm receives $1.95 per landline per month and 54 cents per wireless line per month. Residents are actually charged 73 cents per wireless line on their cell phone bill, however, 19 cents is put into a separate wireless surcharge fund controlled by the state and used for infrastructure work. In 2006, the county had
a landline total of just under 17,000 lines. Four years later, that number dropped to around 12,000 lines, and the last tallied numbers from 2013 showed Bureau County with 7,118 lines. “The decrease in landline funds of $1.95 per line per month is roughly a $3,700 per month loss in the last year, but the loss from BuEComm openings its doors in 2006 is greater than that,” said
911 Page 3
Walnut Food Pantry prepares for Christmas Wilt: ‘The need is always there’ By Zita Henneberry zhenneberry@bcrnews.com
WALNUT — The Walnut Food Pantry is now accepting donations for its Christmas food baskets and Giving Tree. “With us being faithbased, especially at Christ-
mas time, we are supposed to help those that are in need,” said Walnut Food Pantry Directory Deanna Wilt. “Jesus is the reason for the season, and we give as he would have given.” Christmas food baskets will be distributed Dec. 13 and will contain a variety of holiday foods. Bread and butter, frozen meats such as ham or sausage, canned goods, pasta, milk, laundry detergent, and other various items will be included in this
year’s baskets. They’re really great baskets, said Wilt. Along with the Christmas food baskets, the pantry will be giving out items from their Giving Tree. Wilt explained the Giving Tree consists of Christmas gifts to children in the community. The pantry aims to provide each Giving Tree child participant with one outfit, toy, and some other necessity item such as a blanket or hat and gloves. Along with the Wal-
nut churches, the area Boy Scouts are collecting for the pantry. The Boy Scouts will be hosting a food drive the first week of December. Currently, the pantry is collecting clothes sizes and toy suggestions for its Giving Tree items. Canned goods or turkey are great this time of year, but the pantry is in need of hygiene products as well. Items such as shampoo, toothpaste, bar soap
Walnut Page 2
Year 168 No. 138 One Section - 16 Pages
Turn your auto loan around. See us for your next auto loan or a refinance of your current one! Would you like great auto loan rates and excellent customer service? Call Linda or Julie today to see if you qualify for our new loan rates.
© Bureau County Republican