How The Scam Works

Scammers primarily contact victims through unsolicited phone calls; however, other methods, including text messages and emails, are also used. Scammers often spoof authentic phone numbers, email addresses, employee names, and credentials of well-known government and law enforcement agencies, including IC3. Scammers will use a variety of approaches while impersonating these officials, such as using urgent and aggressive tones, refusing to speak to or leave messages with anyone other than the targeted victim, keeping victims on the phone for the duration of the scam, or urging victims not to tell family, friends, financial institutions, or law enforcement about the call. The scammers demand payment through a variety of methods, including prepaid cards, couriers, bank wires, cryptocurrency, or cash inserted into cryptocurrency kiosks.

Scammers use many different pretenses in their initial contact with victims, often accusing the victims of wrongdoing while threatening severe consequences. Examples include:

• The scammer accuses the victim of committing or being connected to a crime, and threatens the victim with arrest, prosecution, or imprisonment if they do not pay to remove the charges or assist in the investigation against the "real" criminals. These are the majority of government impersonation complaints.
• The scammer accuses the victim of not reporting for jury duty and threatens a fine, or they accuse the victim of missing a court date and there is a warrant for the victim's arrest unless a payment is made. Between January 2025 and July 2026, there were 6,833 IC3 complaints involving this kind of scam, with losses totaling nearly $36 million.
• The scammer claims the victim’s passport, driver’s license, or professional license is expiring and demands payment for renewal. Between January 2025 and July 2026, there were 496 IC3 complaints involving this kind of scam, with losses totaling more than $348,000.

Scammers may tailor their tactics for specific types of victims. For example, scammers may accuse medical practitioners of having an expiring medical license or claim their license was used in the commission of a crime. The scammers threaten to revoke the practitioner's license, compelling the practitioner to pay to renew their license or protect their professional reputation. Between January 2025 and July 2026, the FBI received 3,322 IC3 complaints for this type of fraud, with losses totaling more than $37 million.

Scammers may also target Americans from different ethnic communities, foreign nationals, or international students in the United States. The scammers, impersonating foreign law enforcement agencies or US-based foreign diplomatic officials, may threaten victims associated with these nations with extradition or the canceling of their home country passport. In some situations, the scammers wear fake police uniforms and use mock sets of official government facilities to add legitimacy to the scam. These threats can be challenging to verify due to the threat involving unknown officials overseas. Between January 2025 and July 2026, the FBI received 1,809 IC3 complaints for this type of fraud, with losses totaling more than $140 million.

Scammers use new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to support their impersonation schemes. These technologies allow scammers to appear as law enforcement and government officials on video calls with victims, adding the appearance of legitimacy to the scam.

Tips to Protect Yourself

• Law enforcement and government authorities will never contact members of the public by telephone or text message to demand any form of payment or to request personal or sensitive information.
• Law enforcement and government officials will never request payment via prepaid cards, cryptocurrency, or courier.
• Never give your personal information to anyone without verifying the person is who they say they are. Ask for credentials and use official, publicly available information to contact the government or law enforcement agency to verify the caller and their credentials; do not use contact information provided by the person contacting you.
• If you are sent any webpage URLs, do not click without reviewing them to ensure they match the official domain of the law enforcement or government agency. Remember, scammers may use URLs closely mirroring official ones, but with slight variations or incorrect domain extensions (.com instead of .gov).

Report It

If you or someone you know has fallen victim to these impersonation scams, immediately cease all contact with the scammers and notify your financial institutions to safeguard your financial accounts. Contact your local law enforcement agency and file a report. Also file a complaint with the IC3 at www.ic3.gov. Be sure to include any available information including:

• The scammers' contact information, including phone numbers, email addresses, etc.
• Financial information such as bank account details or cryptocurrency addresses, and details of payments requested or sent. For specific guidance on what information to include for cryptocurrency transactions, please see this PSA.
• Communications such as text messages or emails.
• Be sure to retain any financial records and communications.