Iowa police officer hilariously mocks 'IRS,' 'Microsoft' phone scammers in tutorial videos

This holiday season, chances are you've already ignored an unknown phone number and added it to your "blocked" list or told a scammer to stop calling.

It's this time of the year when scam calls really start picking up. Eric Snyder, a community resource officer with the Ames Police Department, knows exactly what you're going through.

Snyder received two calls Wednesday within a few hours of each other on his work cellphone — a publicly available number, he said. It comes as no surprise that scammers have access to it, and admits he receives "a lot" of calls from numbers he doesn't recognize.

"We get calls (to the police department) fairly regularly of these different types of scams," Snyder said. "They're all very similar, but they all take on a different tone."

Follow The Des Moines Register on Facebook | Download the Des Moines Register app

Snyder recently offered tips to the community on how to protect yourself from scammers.

"What I tell people is no matter what type of scam it is — electronic or mail or phone call — if you don't initiate the communication, you should have some level of concern," he said.

While sitting at his desk Wednesday, Snyder received his first call from "Microsoft" and got the idea of capturing the experience on video.

"I thought it'd be important for me to go through as far as I could with one of these calls," he said. "I've never actually gone through one of these calls myself, or at least not this far."

Speaking with "Jesse" from "Microsoft," as seen in a condensed video posted on the Ames Police Department's Facebook page, Snyder was informed that something was wrong with his computer.

The computer-savvy Snyder went along with what "Jesse" was saying. All seemed well for the first 20 minutes or so, he said, but red flags started flying when the conversation "was to the point where she asked me to do something where I needed to change something with my computer."

According to the Facebook post, the call ended with “Jesse” saying: “That’s right, your computer won’t work. I hope it never works."

"The scams will often prey on emotions," Snyder said. "... If they use those types of tactics, hit the brakes and ask for a number to call them back and look them up yourself independent and verify."

RELATED:

Scams that are fooling even the smartest victims

You're a victim with one word in 'Can you hear me?' phone scam

Fraud alert! Don't fall for these financial scams

Snyder's second call captured on video was with the "IRS," requesting him to take care of "urgent business."

Things got interesting, though, when the scammer told Snyder he had an outstanding balance of about $5,000, was faced with up to five years in jail and that an arrest warrant was out in his name.

"I had no idea," Snyder is heard telling the scammer in the video. " ... Do I just turn myself in or how does that work?"

Scammer: "I beg your pardon?"

Snyder was then transferred to someone else with the "IRS."

"OK, so Mr. Snyder," the next scammer is heard saying in the video. "If we give you a chance to rectify the situation, do you think you could make the payment of $5,764.23 right now?"

Snyder: "I might be able to swing that, but the 23 cents might be the breaker."

It was all downhill from there for this scammer.

"When they asked for my Social Security number, I told them: 'You're the IRS, you should already have that,'" Snyder said. "These people cast a wide net. They're in call center. They catch enough people to make a living off it.

"People just need to be super cautious this time of year."

Snyder added that you can always call your local law enforcement if you think you are dealing with a scammer.

Interested in trending Iowa news? Follow @AaYoung15 on Twitter.

You can watch Snyder's interaction with the "IRS" in its entirety here:

3 tips on how to protect yourself from scammers:

If you feel excited, alarmed, scared or panicked, take a step back and realize that it could be a scammer preying on your emotions. If you didn't initiate the communication, be wary. If you're asked to pay via wire transfer, reloadable money card or gift card, be very wary.

— Ames Police Department