Lacey woman loses $6,435 to IRS scammer, police say

A Lacey Township 75-year-old's financial comfort margin deteriorates rapidly, thanks to the IRS phone scam that's rampaging across Ocean County.

A post on the Lacey Township PD Facebook page recounts the distressed woman's Wednesday report of fielding a call from someone speaking broken English and claiming to represent the Internal Revenue Service.

Threatened with arrest and jail unless a fabricated back-tax matter was settled then and there, she made her way to the Wells Fargo branch on Lacey Road and transferred $6.435 to a specified account, according to instructions.

After learning of the incident, Lacey Police Officer Brian Holt enlisted bank workers to try to stop the transfer. Police have now turned it into an active investigation.

The department reproduced the notice on the Internal Revenue Service web page for distribution to financial concerns throughout the township.