good saturday morning to you. it's 7:00. we're giving you this gorgeous live look outside of the bay bridge and the sun rising in the distance past oakland on what will be a tremendous saturday. thanks so much for joining us. i'm kira klapper. veeenny aran na joins us. we're officially in spring. but you might be taking it to summer. >> it's definitely a california spring, because california spring means we're slightly warmer than what we should be. but it's definitely going to be a great way to kick off april.

the south bay is on the mild side. 50 degrees at peninsula on the chillier side at 54. out in san francisco 57 and north bay 47 degrees. now we are seeing a bit of some hazy skies along the peninsula, but that should clear out quite nicely once that haze clears out and those high clouds clear out, what's going to happen is we're going to warm up because that's going to make way for some sunshine. look at the temperature trend in san jose. by 1:00, it's going to be about 72 degrees, by 2:00, 74. and our highs are expected to climb into the upper 70s and even 80s in some areas. even san francisco tapping into those as well. it's going to be a great weekend to head to the beach, to head on a hike. don't forget that sun screen. and drink plenty of water, because you're going to be outside. the sun will be blazing. if you're wondering about your allergies, i have a pollen count

a and. >> this is not an april fool's joke. we begin with a deadly crash involving a fire truck in the east bay. it happened early this morning when fire crews were responding to a traffic accident. a driver of an suv slammed into the back of the second fire engine at full speed. this happened on highway 4 in antioch west of the summersville road exit. the driver to suv died instantly. >> we don't know if alcohol or drugs were a contributing factor. the firefighters that were in the portion of the truck at the time the collision sustained minor injuries. >> this is the second time in recent months that a fire truck has been hit by a speeding car while protecting another fire crew. a similar scene on 880 in hayward. a driver slammed into a work crew doing work for caltrans. this happened this morning near

the wynton exit. the crew was working on a construction project on both north and southbound 880. a worker inside the truck is suffering from minor injuries. the driver of the car died. to developing news in the south bay. dozens were evacuated after a shooting in a motel. this happened last night at the capri motel in santa clara right on el camino and san tomas expressway. someone opened fire on the second floor of the motel. officers found a man suffering from a gunshot wound and he was taken to the hospital in a serious condition. the shooter took off in another car, but as of now there is no description of that car. there is a new lead in the case of a missing bay area toddler. this is arianna fitts. she was reported missing nearly one year ago. at that same time her mother nicole was found murdered in a san francisco park. the sfpd says they've now seized

a car that may be connected to that case and the fbi is now re-examining dna leads. this news comes just before memorial for the mother and a vigil for the little girl that will be held at mclaren park. nicole fitts' body was found in that park in a shallow grave covered by a piece of wood last april. her daughter has not been found since. she's now 3 1/2 years old. the family isn't giving up hope she'll be found alive. >> i do believe that she's alive. she could be anywhere in america. she could be across the border. >> the memorial and vigil for nicole and arianna fitts is at 7:00 tonight in mclaren park in san francisco. the family will be posting and passing out flyers hoping someone will recognize the toddler and call police. police in solano county are looking for the armed masked robber who stole money from a walmart. it happened last night in suisun city right off highway 12.

surveillance cameras captured the theefb here who had a white mask and black clothes. wal nart was on lockdown for a short time. two deadly fires in the last few months have rocked the oakland community and now the mayor libby schaaf is hoping to prevent something similar from happening ever again. the mayor's office announced it will double the size of the bureau. the extra staffers will join the agency responsible for inspecting buildings and finding potential hazards about this news comes on the same day we heard for the very first time of a family member of one of the victims of monday's fire. >> he's a dynamic young 64-year-old who lost his life. >> the city released e-mails yesterday that shows several violations were found during recent inspections of that rehab center that went up in flames on monday. inspectors had recommended that the center be shut down back in january. well, you might not know his

name, but you surely know the flag he designed. gilbert baker is being remembered for designing the rainbow flag, the iconic symbol for the lgbt. baker died on thursday. today in the bay's gene ely has his story. >> the struggle for liberation and part of a struggle for peace and social discuss. >> reporter: he tells the crowd about his friend and civil rights activist gilbert baker in the castro district gathering under the rainbow flag baker created in 1978. it became the unifying symbol for the lgbtq community after baker flew it at the pride parade celebration nearly 40 years ago. >> their faces lit up. without any explanation at all, everyone knew immediately that this was now our flag. >> reporter: baker's creation is now a symbol of inclusion around the world. the flag flew at half staff at city hall, newlyweds eva bender

and dory barone said activists like baker led the movement that led to equality and their union. they see it as a symbol of safety. >> when i see that, i know it's okay and we're welcome. >> reporter: friends say baker was a veteran, an artist and an activist. carrying his final creation down castro street. a message to keep fighting for equality. >> he was pretty wonderful. >> reporter: reporting for n brks krrbc bay area news. mayor ed lee tweeting this picture of city hall shining in rainbow lights in solidarity with the transgender community. city employees were barred from traveling to north carolina last year after a law was passed requiring transgender people to use the bathroom corresponding with the sex on their birth

certificate. the law also prevented anti-discrimination measures. it is 7:08. we have much more ahead on today in the bay. sticker shock for several bay area cities as sales tax goes up today, especially for smokers. we'll tell you what might make you feel a little bit better about paying more. plus -- >> lights, camera and action here in the bay area. we have this special training that could bring more movie sets here.

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the sales tax is going up in several parts of the bay area. ian cole has the details. >> reporter: a little more comes out with each purchase as sales tax hikes around the bay area including santa clara county. >> want to keep an eye on it and make sure it goes where it's need to go. >> reporter: here it will go toward transportation upgrades and road construction. you will also see the jump in places like pleasant hills, san jose, east palo alto and in newark which now has the highest sales tax rate of the bunch at 9.75%. >> don't like paying more money. >> reporter: shoppers weren't so thrilled. >> not too much a big change, but i don't see why they're doing it in newark. >> reporter: that money in newark will be used for general purposes potentially on upgrades to city hall. >> these are the cream of the crop. >> reporter: if you live in those areas, buying a car gets a little more pricey as well. for every $1,000 you spend you'll pay an extra $5 in sales tax. >> we're a domg product.

50,000 vehicles is about our average. so it may be a small amount of money but still going towards taxes rather than the purchase of their own vehicle. >> reporter: consumers say it adds up. they hope it helps. >> if it goes to like public transportation, which it's supposed to, then i'm for it. and another big tax hike goes into effect today. because of proposition 56, the tax on tobacco and vaping products will go up by $2. that's more than double the current tax on cigarettes. lawmakers expect the tax to raise about a billion dollars each year, most of which will go to medi-cal. the dangerous side of hollywood. some special training for special effects that could bring more movie shoots to the bay area. and we have a nice sunrise under way. walnut creek looking beautiful, but are your allergies acting up?

i'll have a look at the pollen count and the top allergens that may affect your weekend.

welcome back. it is 7:15 and a gorgeous look at coit tower and the bay as the sun rises ahead of a gorgeous weekend. we hope you get to get out and enjoy it. hollywood has used the bay area as a movie backdrop for decades. while some of those films have made a splash, a new traping course aims to ensure that those movies could make a boom as well. joe rosato jr. shows us what happens when they hold a special effects class for local emergency responders. >> go ahead, make my day. >> reporter: in its long history of playing host to movie making, the bay area has seen plenty of action. >> a normal person may look at it and go, wow, those guys. that's kind of loose. >> reporter: which is why the state fire marshal organized an unusual training session in a parking lot at san francisco

state. bringing together the people who put out fires with the people hired to make them. >> the stuff is relatively dangerous. >> reporter: special effects movie guru thane morris has blown things up for 50 years. from films like the empire strikes back to "raiders of the lost ark." >> i've been operating well since 19 3 and i still got ten. >> we'll start off with a nice fireball. >> reporter: the state got morris and his team to teach bay area emergency responders all about explosions, fires and other special effects used in movie making. >> we have some flamer pots. >> reporter: the smoke machines include this curious looking gadget. >> we're trying to educate them to where it's a safe working environment for everybody. >> and you have a nice little

campfire that you can put cowboys around or a bunch of hippies. >> it's important to be prepared for any type of filming or television production that comes into our area. >> you ready for the big one? >> by pulling back the curtain on special effects, the bay area film industry is hoping to lure more productions, making it easier for wary cities to permit what may seem dangerous. >> even though these things might sound scary and they're huge blow 'em up shots, they're very controlled and very safe. >> reporter: which brings us to the big final act. >> do not try this at home. >> reporter: the classic man on fire. if it looks dangerous, it is, but carried out by experts who know what they're doing, it's all in the name of entertainment. joe risotto jr. >> wow. >> let's check in with a look at the weekend forecast.

and it's lit. >> yeah. >> i won't talk like that ever again. but i thought that was fitting after that. >> it was. i don't know if i'd ever let anybody light me on fire even if i knew what i was doing. a little too dangerous for me. all this hair. it wouldn't be a good combination. but i'll tell you what, you're definitely going to want to enjoy the outdoors today. your hair might be able to be down today. no ponytail needed because the winds have calmed down. >> good. >> that's a very good sign especially if you have plans to head outside. mt. hamilton looking gorgeous. look at those beautiful skies as we welcome this lovely saturday across the bay area. those temps not too bad. some chilly temps still along the peninsula, trivale at 52 degrees. san francisco 57, then the north bay still in the 40s at 47 degrees. but high clouds clear out and that will make way for nice clear skies and that temperature trend, take a look. it's going to be nice and toasty out there. by 11:00 a.m.

66 degrees. fast forward through that lunch hour at 1:00 or 2:00. 72, 74. now san jose will get even warmer than that to the point where san francisco is even going to see some 70s. so it's definitely going to be a great day to maybe head over to golden gate park or take your dog on a walk or a nice bike ride. 70 degrees by 2:00. so if you're wondering about your highs for today, the reason i've been saying to wear some sunscreen is because we're seeing some 80s also in the forecast. so you definitely want to drink plenty of water especially if you're going to be on a nice hike. santa rosa, 81 degrees, napa 82 degrees, oakland 74, livermore and san jose in those upper 70s as well. look at that, 78 degrees for san jose, half moon bay, 67. and down near san francisco, a very nice 72 degrees. but one thing you might notice, if you have allergies is that they've been acting up lately especially on windier days they do tend to be taller in terms of the pollen count.

trees very high still, tree pollen type, oak, mulberry and pine will be the biggest factors. grass is absent today. mold, nice low pollen count for now. and weeds absent. but of course this changes every day. but thankfully we aren't seeing too many winds today which will bring a nice calm across the bay area especially if you're heading to the coastline. but if you want to go wine tasting, get ready for some 80s. the north bay is expecting to see in 80s, 79 degrees by 2:00. by 3:00, 80 degrees and napa could warm up to 82 degrees. but it will also be nice beach weather. if you don't want to go wine tasting, maybe a nice bikini will be in store. so not too toasty, still on the cooler side for a beach day, you about it's definitely going to be very sunny. so it's definitely going to be a great day to head out there. but if you had plans to head to lake tahoe, i know that the snow's melting with all of that sunshine, but it's still pretty

gorgeous out there. 53 degrees on sunday. then if you're heading to monterey, 64 by tomorrow. now, over the next seven days we do have some changes coming, but they're positive changes. we have that high pressure dominating in the forecast, which will keep us nice and dry over the next several days. you do notice a change coming in on friday, and that's because we are expecting to see a weaker disturbance that could bring the return of some rain in the bay area and of course, it had to land on a weekend but still rong range models. inland area is also expecting to see a high of about 77 tomorrow. we'll cool down, just a few degrees into tomorrow, but then the start of the work week, look at that, by monday 76, then we keep that dry weather pattern really for the remainder of the first week of april not too shabby. kira. >> looks really good. we have much more ahead on "forehe "today in the bay" coming up. >> i know i'm a survivor and a fighter. and just very determined. >> many of us may take driving somewhere are for granted.

but not this bay area man. his inspiring story of never giving up is today's bay area proud. next.

it's not likely you feel grateful for your daily commute. there's one man who is grateful for his simple commute. the product of years of hard work and the generosity of others. garvin thomas has his story. >> reporter: we first introduced to chad last summer. he was the recipient of a very large check thanks to some very generous people. chad has since put that check to work getting him to work. there is probably a day in the future when chad, like many others, will view his daily commute as a necessary evil. that day, though, is not today. and likely won't be here for

quite some time. >> it's very freeing. >> right now -- >> to be able to drive. >> it's all good. chad is a living now licensed example of good things coming from hard work. >> i know that i'm a survivor and a fighter. and just very determined. >> reporter: in chad's life he's had to overcome bad luck. a muscular disease that required 14 surgeries before the age of 10 as well as some bad decisions. ones that landed him living on the streets of santa cruz for four brutal years. but chad pulled himself out of that dark place and has since made a career of helping other homeless get off the streets. first, with downtown streets team and now with destination home. but chad had to spend hours upon hours every day relying on public transportation just to get his work done. >> chad's an incredibly inspiring human being. >> reporter: that's when a group

of san jose civic leaders including mayor sam liccardo decided that getting chad some wheels would be good. not just for him, but for the entire community. $78,000 was raised. a specially equipped van was purchased last fall. and earlier this month chad got his driver's license. >> a lifelong dream. >> reporter: he is not only grateful. he's encouraged. if people are willing to do this for him, what else might they want to tackle? >> for me it's like affirming, about the power that we have in our community to solve thing. everybody have their seat belt on? >> reporter: chad is just as excited for what that's new wheels mean for his life as a fathy of three, soon to be four. you will never here him complain about having to shuttle his kids around. at least not for a while. also on chad's list of things he would love to do with his

newfound freedom, take a trip to l.a., maybe go out for ice cream at midnight. garvin thomas, nbc bay area news. we have much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, racism and the action students took to keep the eye on discrimination front and center. plus -- >> the way they harassed, you get scared. >> scammers posing as irs agents and threatening you with jail time. we investigate a tax scam sweeping the country. how it works and how to avoid falling victim to it.

good morning to you. it is 7:29 and here's a live look outside in san francisco as the sun shines on the embarcadero. it will be a gorgeous day in the city. and when you know it's nice -- you know it's going to be nice across the bay area when it's

nice in the city. thanks so much for joining us. i'm kira klapper. vianey arana joins us with the forecast. you brought it. >> i want to say i brought the sunshine in. >> you did. >> not a bad week to come back to. i thought about issuing a micro climate alert saying it was going to rain as an april fool's joke. >> but that would be mean. >> that would be supermean. let's get the day started with good vibes. today's main event will be just that. a lot of sunshine, 80s. and i hope you get a chance to really head outside. woodside right now looking gorgeous. i know that a lot of folks are wondering what the temps are, probably heading out the door. are you going to need a heavy jacket or what's the deal? mild temps right now in the 50s, half moon bay 50 degrees. mountainview 53 and in the hayward area 53. we're still seeing breezy conditions in some valleys, but not expecting any wind today.

maybe a slight breeze along the coastline into the evening hours. but overall very calm weather. santa cruz at 44. tone look at today's forecast, 70s and 80s across the board. even half moon bay is in the 60s. morgan hill expecting a high of about 75 degrees. so this is not an april fool's joke, as kira mentioned earlier, we're really expecting to see the 70s and the 80s, but how long is it going to stick around and when do we expect to see a chance of rain again? >> always a twist. we'll stay tuned for that later, vianey, thanks. a deadly crash involving a fire truck in the east bay early this morning. fire crews were responding to a traffic accident when the driver of an suv slammed into the back of the second fire engine at full speed. this happened on highway 4 in anti-y ok west of the summersville road exit. the driver of the suv dined instantly. >> we don't know if alcohol or

drugs were a contributing factor. the firefighters in the tail end portion of the truck at the time of the collision sustained minor injuries. >> this is the second time in recent months that a coco county fire truck has been hit by a speeding car while protecting another fire crew. a man slammed into a road work crew doing work for caltrans. this happened just after 3:00 this morning. the crew was working on a construction project on both northbound and southbound 880. the chp says a road worker who was inside the truck is suffering from minor injure, but the driver of the car who ran into the truck died. a deadly crash at construction site in san jose is under investigation. we first brought you this story as breaking news yesterday. a man driving with his 10-year-old daughter in the back seat crashed into and under the flat bed of a big rig. it happened around 8:00 yesterday morning. witnesses say the driver seemed

confused, possibly by the sunshine in his eyes or by the construction workers flagging him. he died. the girl is expected to be okay. there is a new lead in the case of a missing bay area toddler. this is arianna fitts who was reported missing a year ago. around that time her mother nicole was found murdered in a san francisco park. the sfpd says they've seized a car that may be ektconnected toe case. this news comes right before memorial for the mother and a vigil for the little girl at mclaren park. nicole fitts' body was found at that park last april in a shallow grave covered by a piece of wood. nicole's daughter arianna has not been seen since. she's now 3 1/2 years old and the family isn't giving ep hope she'll be found alive. >> i do believe that she's alive. she could be anywhere in america. she could be across the border.

>> again, the memorial and vigil for nicole and arianna fitts is at 7:00 tonight at mclaren park in san francisco. the family will be posting and passing out flyers hoping someone will recognize the toddler and call police. police in solano county are looking for the armed robber who stole money if a walmart. it happened last night in suisun city right off highway 12. surveillance cameras captured the thief who had a gun and was wearing a white mask and black clothes. walmart was on lockdown for a short time. vandalism on campus. this vocinvolves cows. someone let them out. they're part of a farming program at live oak high school in morgan hill. "today in the bay" michelle roberts explains. >> i just don't think that it should have happened in first place. >> reporter: samantha says she's trying to let the hurtful words and actions roll off her back and focus on her work with the animals. she's a freshman at live oak

high school in morgan hill and a member of the future farmers of america or ffa. >> we have to clean it up. we have to deal with the expensive animals that. >> reporter: it happened at live oak farm which is next to the high school. the vandal or vandals let about a dozen cows out of the corrals and spray painted ffa kills on the barn. >> this is definitely the wrong way to go about it. we don't want these animals to be injured. >> reporter: she says a similar incident happened over the summer when vandals released pigs from their cages. the pigs ended up fighting and injuring each other and thankfully in this case, the cows weren't hurt. >> if they were on the road and someone didn't see them when they were driving at night and they run into them, that can cause huge problems. it can injure the animal obviously, but it can kill somebody. >> reporter: the school will be installing surveillance cameras. kids in the program are grateful

the school is taking action to protect the animals and students who work on the farm. >> it's hurtful because they do work hard. and they raise their animals, they take pride in what they do. >> reporter: michelle roberts, nbc bay area news. focused on combating racism on campus. students at albany high school held another demonstration to show support for a group of minority teens targeted on instagram. the rally was organized by the black student union. on thursday, the student s stagd a sit-in to protest. they say they will not back down until thoe perpetrators who created the social media post are punished. it's 7:36. i have much more ahead on "in the bay" coming up. a tightly contested contest. and the warriors look to extend their winning streak to ten games as they take on one of the top mvp candidates at oracle arena.

taking a live look outside at oakland coliseum. this will be the scene today for the final game of the by bridge series. first pitch between the a's and the giants will be at noon. a gorgeous temperature to be outside today. first two games of the series were at at&t park. last night's game could be seen right here on nbc bay area. brandon crawford got things started for the giants in the send inning hitting this opposite field solo homer for a 1-0 lead. jeff samardzija had one on the ground. they gave up only one hit. now to late game drama, trailing 2-1, the a's load the bases in the ninth but he gets out of it. the giants hold on to win. meanwhile, athe warriors hosting james harden and the rockets. houston led most of the game, but the warriors finished strong, thank goodness, a big

fourth quarter pushed the dubs past houston. that's ten wins in a row for the warriors. there are six games remaining in the regular season. and the tough times continue for the sharks. a late season slump. san jose lost in calgary last night and have now lost eight of their last nine games. the sharks have four games remaining in their regular season. much more ahead on "today in the bay" coming up. we investigate a tax scam that could affect you and your family. how you can avoid scammers posing as irs agents. and you may want to add the beach to your saturday plans and maybe even sunday. we'll talk about your highs for today and also have a look at the pollen count after the break.

rise and definitely shine. we're already off to a fantastic start. look at weoodside looking

gorgeous. it's looking gorgeous everywhere, even heavenly lake tahoe. it's going to be a gorgeous day for nice photos. i know that snow is definitely melting. hopefully you had a chance to head out some point this season because we definitely had a lot of snow. right now 40s and 50s across the bay area. 47 degrees in santa rosa and san francisco 56, mountainview 53, out in livermore 53 degrees. you may need a nice light sweater but you're going to quickly shed that and even flip-flops and shorts, maybe a baseball cap may be in order because no wind to blow that hat away but definitely a lot of sun. protect yourself. santa rosa, 81 degrees. san francisco 72, palo alto 77 and san jose and santa cruz both coming in at a nice 78 degrees. so definitely a fantastic way to kick off the month of april, very springy but also slightly warmer. but with spring we know that

comes those allergies. a quick check of the pollen count for today. trees right now is pretty high with the biggest impact being oak, mulberry and pine. that's definitely going to be something to keep in mind as you make your way outside. grass is absent for today. mold, we're seeing a low pollen report. and for weeds we're seeing that absent today. but of course this is going to be up and down throughout the weekend and we saw all of those winds the past couple of days and that definitely kicks up a lot of that pollen. now, santa cruz, if you're heading out to the beach, this is not going to be an area where your allergies are affected especially with the nice sea breeze along the coast. and 3:00 we warm up nicely to 65 degrees. still going to be a little bit on the cooler side. but lake tahoe is also going to be a very great weekend to head out there, at least to enjoy the sights. we're still seeing snow up on the mountains, 1:00 p.m. 50 degrees and 3:00 p.m. 51. no worries in terms of travel

conditions as you make your way up there. today we talked about the 80s. what about sunday? the good muse is that you're not going to just have today. you're also going to have tomorrow to enjoy the sunshine. we are expecting to see nice clear skies yet again, slightly cooler temps as we head into tomorrow into the 60s and 50s into the later portion of sunday evening. but the next seven days we're starting a bit of a drying and warming trend. we do have high pressure that's going to roll in and that's what's going to keep that sunshine around. by sunday, a high of about 69 in san francisco. as you head into your work week about 66 degrees. look at this, monday, tuesday, wednesday and thursday keeping those nice temps in the forecast until friday when we do see a potential storm system that could bring the chance of some rain towards the bay area. unfortunately, it does look like it could make its arrival for next weekend. definitely take advantage of this weekend. if you have any birthday plans or kids parties outside, absolutely gorgeous. 77 degrees as we head into

tomorrow. as i mention a few degrees cooler but keeping the 70s in the forecast, through monday a high of 76 inland, then those rain chances on friday. we at least have five more days of sunshine and warmer temperatures. i'm so ready for this week. >> yeah. enjoy it while it lasts. even 71 on a rainy day. that's still not too shabby. it's looking really nice. thanks. we have much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, giving patients a second chance. a new cancer treatment showing remarkable results in patients. in our suvs,

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welcome back. 7:49 on your saturday morning. a live look outside at the glowing bay under the bay bridge on a gorgeous saturday. it will be 72 in the city today. incredible. 80s in the inland areas. a little bit cooler tomorrow. we hope you get to enjoy this beautiful weekend. could an itunes gift card help settle a tax debt? well, not according to the irs. but a growing number of scammers now use these type of gift cards to cheat taxpayers out of thousands of dollars. senior investigative reporter has been covering these tax scams for years. he uncovered an entire new legal of sophistication on the part of scammers. >> reporter: the irs and state tax agents both tell me that these schemes have become so sophisticated, so good, so to speak, that they sometimes fool even trained criminal

investigators. while tax season may soon be coming to a close, state and federal investigators tell us that tax fraught has quickly grown into a year-round problem, a problem with consequences for all taxpayers. >> press the button. >> reporter: like most parents kayla calderon of east san jose would do anything for her kids. so when the single mother of two received a threatening call from someone posing as the irs, she says she immediately feared for her family. >> the way they harassed, you get scared. >> reporter: calderon says when the scammers called her, they called armed with detailed information about her background and employment history. adding to their credibility. the callers demanded that she pay them $6500 immediately or they said she would be picked up by local law enforcement and arrested by the irs. >> how am i supposed to pay my bills? i don't have that kind of money. finally we went down to four,

400. >> reporter: but instead of paying by credit card, check or money order, calderon says the callers told her to pay with local gift cards, gift cards from itunes where she was supposed to give the itunes number to the scammers over the telephone. >> they said just do it. i said okay. they kept telling me, do not hang up. >> reporter: while remaining on the telephone the entire time, calderon said she rushed to a nearby rite aid and emptied her bank account, buying several itunes gift cards to pay off her supposed debt. >> they told me that i had to give them more money. i said i don't have that kind of money. i'm sorry. that's when i started getting aggressive with them letting them know this isn't right. you know, are you guys really irs? >> reporter: that's when calderon realized she'd been tricked falling for one of the latest most aggressive tax scams now sweeping the country. >> it's a horrible crime. >> reporter: deputy inspector general at the treasury

inspector general's office in washington, he says a growing and surprising number of scammers are now turning to the use of itunes gift cards, swindling taxpayers out of millions of dollars. >> about 70% of the victims today are being convinced to pay this bogus tax bill using an itunes card. >> reporter: he said his office received more than 40,000 calls from victims reporting irs scams in the last year. that's a sharp increase from just 12,000 similar reports in 2013. >> it's too easy. picking up the phone and pretending that you're the irs and then threatening somebody and scaring them into paying. >> reporter: the treasury department and fbi have recently been successful in shutting down several illegal call centers including one based in india with bay area ties last october. camus says the threat to taxpayers still remains. >> the scammers get more sophisticated every year. >> reporter: daniel tahara of the tax board said last year his office stopped 21,000 fraudulent

returns, worth about $70 million. >> and they're getting even bolder. there have been instances this past year where the scammers actually called us directly to inquire about status of their refund. >> reporter: even so he admits many fraudulent schemes go undetected as the problem as become harder and harder to catch and to stop. >> with the amount of information these scammers have, they're filing returns that it's hard to differentiate between a scammer and the authentic taxpayer filing. if you compare a fraudulent return to an authentic return, in some cases the fraudulent return contains less errors than the actual authentic taxpayer filings. >> reporter: the state tax board has stepped up its review process, taking longer to doublecheck every return. that adds up to longer wait times for anyone expecting a refund, whether or not they are directly impacted by a tax scam. kayla calderon was able to get her money back after explaining

what happened to rite aid officials. even so, she's speaking out now, despite being embarrassed about how easily she was fooled, in hopes that others will learn from her experience. >> stay alert. >> reporter: the treasury inspector general tells me that the average amount lost is about $500, although he has seen as much as a half million dollars lost in this latest tax scam. irs officials remind you that federal agents will never call you up and threaten you with arrest over the telephone. and they'll always send you a notice in the mail first. they'll also never accept gift cards especially itunes gift cards as payment. if you want to know more, go to our website, click on nbcbayarea.com/investigations. i'm stephen stock, nbc bay area news. and if you have a tip for our investigative unit 888-996-tips, or send us an e-mail to the unit@nbcbayarea.com. it could be a major break through can a new therapy that

helps the patient's own immune system fight off cancer. it's called car-t. doctors remove some of the patient's cells and reprogram them. they put those supercells back into the patient and the cells attack the tumor. doctors say there are side effects that last about two weeks including a high fever, but 80% of patients saw their tumors shrink after just one treatment. and after six months one-third of paetsches saw their tumors disappear completely. much more ahead on today in the bay. great america is the place to be today. we'll show you the new coaster that's not for the faint of heart.

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well, this is video from the first robotics regional competition in the south bay. high school engineers from across the country came to san jose for this. students design, build and race their robots, which have to perform tasks in a certain

amount of time. former competitors say the battles are springboards into the tech industry. >> so you have deadlines and you have to go through build materials and cost analysis. you have to actually build everything, engineer it, and then you get to learn the product software behind it as well. >> wow. this competition continues through tonight. and great america has a new roller coaster ride. and by the way, it has no floor. here it is. it's called the patriot. it opens today in santa clara. this is the very first time the park has built a roller coaster on which riders' feet will be dangling in the air. it takes riders 90 stories high before plummeting into a loop. >> no thank you. >> wow. >> i grew up sort of near disneyland. you grew up near magic mountain. >> six flags. >> we're both not interested. >> i would wait in line most of the time. >> nice to have your feet on the ground. we'll have more local news for

you tonight all day on nbcbayarea.com. symbol you know you're

watching television that's educational and informational. the more you know on nbc. josh: today on the voyager... ... i search the hills of tuscany for the world's most expensive food. giulio: yeah, truffles josh. josh: did you find one already? giulio: yeah truffles josh. josh: fall in love with the true taste of italy. you have to come to italy to try gelato. and test my chops in the birthplace of opera. oh man i slaughtered those lyrics. that's embarrassing. my name is josh garcia. ever since i was a kid i dreamt about traveling the world by ocean, immersing myself in new cultures and exploring nature's wonders. now i'm making that dream a reality. my mission: to seek out the awesome people and