SAN DIMAS >> A con artist posing as an IRS representative nearly persuaded a woman to turn over thousands of dollars Friday before a misunderstanding at a San Dimas bank drew the attention of deputies, officials said.
Deputies initially responded about 12:30 p.m. to a report of a robbery at the Chase branch, 1001 W. Arrow Highway, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Tonya Edwards said.
They arrived and learned there had been no robbery, but there was a crime in progress, she said.
A woman had been contacted by telephone by a man claiming to represent the IRS and demanding she withdraw several thousand dollars from her bank account and wire it to him, the lieutenant said. The scammer also demanded that the woman remain on the phone with him throughout the process.
While at the bank, the woman passed a note to a teller trying to explain the situation, officials said. The teller thought the bank was being robbed and called deputies.
Deputies found the woman still on the phone with the con artist, Edwards said. When a deputy tried to speak with the caller, he hung up.
The extortion attempt was strikingly similar to others reported both locally and throughout the nation in recent months and years.
A 70-year-old Sierra Madre woman lost about $4,000 in a nearly identical scam in April.
For more information on tax scams, visit www.irs.gov.