{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/sen-mccaskill-hails-arrests-of-irs-impersonators", "Sen. McCaskill hails arrests of IRS impersonators", "2016-10-27", "2016", "2016-10", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Claire McCaskill", "M001170", "www.mccaskill.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sen. McCaskill hails arrests of IRS impersonators \r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                Thursday, October 27, 2016\r\n            \r\n            \n\t\n\r\n            \r\n            \r\n                  \r\n                    By:\u00a0\r\n                    John P Tretbar \r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                \r\n                \r\n                \r\n            U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is praising law enforcement efforts after 56 individuals and five Indian call centers were indicted for scams involving IRS impersonations.\r\nThe three-year probe led to the large single domestic law enforcement action to date involving this scam.\r\nA government report suggests that this scam has victimized roughly 10,000 Americans, with losses of $50 million.\r\nMcCaskill and Sen. Susan Collins, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Special Committee on Aging, have repeatedly called for increased law enforcement action to combat an emerging scam in which individuals impersonate IRS agents and demand that victims pay money immediately to avoid punishment. The Senate Aging Committee held a hearing last year on the scam. McCaskill says this figure includes $112,000 that has been stolen from 36 Missouri victims. More than 10,000 attempted scam calls are being placed every week.\r\n\u201cThese arrests\u2014the largest law enforcement action against these scammers to date\u2014are an enormous victory for the thousands of victims, many of them elderly, whose sense of financial responsibility has been preyed upon by these criminals,\u201d said McCaskill, a former courtroom prosecutor. \u201cWe\u2019re now sending a clear and aggressive signal to these scam artists that they can no longer hide behind the anonymity of a call center or a blocked number to perpetuate a scam that\u2019s made people afraid to answer their phones.\u201d\r\nMcCaskill also backed bipartisan legislation that would repeal the legalizing of IRS robocalls by requiring callers to have the receiving party\u2019s consent before making automated calls or texts for collecting debts owed or guaranteed by the federal government. The bill is supported by several prominent consumer groups, including the Consumer Federation of American and Consumers Union.\r\nLast spring, five individuals were arrested on charges relating to the scam, and according to court documents, they were responsible for taking nearly $2 million from more than 1,500 victims.\r\nMcCaskill recently requested from the IRS a plan on how the agency intends to crack down on identity theft scammers who are stealing consumers\u2019 Identity Protection PINs in order to file fraudulent tax returns. These PINs were originally intended to deter fraudulent filing by thieves who may already possess an individual\u2019s stolen personally identifying information.\r\n            \r\n             \r\n            \r\n            \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/sen-mccaskill-hails-arrests-of-irs-impersonators"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9017940610647202, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}