Greg's Corner

This FBI Scam Wants You Scared

By Greg Collier

For years, one of the most basic pieces of advice about phone scams was simple: if someone claims to be from the FBI, police, IRS, or another government agency and starts demanding money, hang up.

That advice still applies. But scammers are making the first part of the scam much harder to recognize.

The FBI’s Boston Division is warning about an impersonation scheme in which criminals are spoofing the office’s actual telephone number and pretending to be FBI agents. The scammers then use the credibility of that phone number, along with threats of criminal charges and other frightening claims, to manipulate victims into following their instructions.

It is a perfect example of how modern scammers are taking old impersonation scams and adding new technology to make them considerably more convincing.

The Call That Looks Legitimate

According to the FBI, the scam begins with someone pretending to represent a financial institution. The caller tells the victim that their personal information has allegedly been used to open an account connected to the purchase of illegal firearms.

That is already enough to get someone’s attention.

The victim is then supposedly transferred to an FBI special agent who is investigating the matter. The victim may even be told to verify the telephone number. The call then disconnects.

Shortly afterward, another call comes in.

This time, the caller ID appears to show the FBI Boston Division’s actual main telephone number.

The person on the other end provides a fake name and badge number and claims to be an FBI agent. The victim is then encouraged to continue the conversation through an encrypted messaging application.

The scammer may insist that the communications are confidential and must not be shared with anyone.

That last part is particularly important.

The criminals are not merely trying to convince victims that they are government officials. They are trying to isolate them from anyone who might recognize the scam.

Caller ID Is Not Identification

This is where the scam becomes especially dangerous.

Many people have been taught to look at caller ID as a basic security check. If the number looks familiar, the caller must be legitimate.

That assumption is no longer safe.

Phone numbers can be spoofed. A criminal sitting somewhere far from Boston can potentially make a call appear to originate from an FBI office. The same basic tactic can be used with the telephone number of a police department, courthouse, bank, government agency, or any other trusted organization.

In other words, seeing a legitimate number on your screen doesn’t necessarily mean that organization is calling you.

The FBI specifically warns that it will not call or email private citizens to demand payment, threaten arrest, request sensitive information, or order someone to communicate through an encrypted application.

It also will not tell someone to pay money through prepaid cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency ATMs to avoid arrest.

Those are not FBI procedures. They are scammer procedures.

Fear Is the Product

The criminals behind these schemes understand something important about human behavior.

A person who believes they are about to be arrested for helping purchase illegal firearms isn’t necessarily going to calmly investigate the call.

They may panic.

That panic is exactly what the scammer wants.

The caller creates a frightening situation, establishes himself as the person who can supposedly make the problem go away, and then starts giving the victim instructions. The victim is encouraged to act immediately rather than stop and independently verify what is happening.

This is a recurring formula in government impersonation scams.

You’re being investigated.

Your identity was stolen.

There is a warrant for your arrest.

Your bank account is connected to criminal activity.

You owe the government money.

You could be arrested if you don’t cooperate.

Then comes the solution: send money, move your money, provide information, install an application, or follow some other instruction.

The details change, but the psychological machinery remains remarkably consistent.

This Isn’t Just an FBI Scam

There is nothing particularly unique about the FBI being used as the disguise.

The same scam can be adapted to impersonate virtually any government agency or law enforcement organization.

A criminal could claim to be from a local police department and say you have an outstanding warrant. Another could pretend to be a federal court official. Someone else could impersonate the IRS and claim you have an unpaid tax bill.

Scammers have also impersonated Social Security officials, Medicare representatives, immigration authorities, and other government agencies.

The objective is the same: make the victim afraid enough to stop thinking critically.

And technology gives criminals additional tools to make their stories believable.

A fake badge number costs nothing. A government seal can be copied. A legitimate telephone number can be spoofed. An official-looking email can be created in minutes. Increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence can also make written communications, voices, and other pieces of a fake identity more convincing.

The scammer doesn’t necessarily need to fool you with one perfect piece of evidence. They simply need to overwhelm you with enough apparently legitimate details that you stop questioning the story.

The Isolation Tactic Should Set Off Alarms

One of the biggest red flags in the FBI warning isn’t necessarily the demand itself.

It is the instruction not to tell anyone.

That is a classic scam tactic.

Legitimate investigators don’t need to isolate you from your family, friends, attorneys, financial institution, or other trusted people in order to conduct legitimate business.

When a caller tells you that the matter is confidential and you cannot discuss it with anyone, stop.

That instruction benefits the scammer, not you.

A family member might recognize the scam. A bank employee might question the transaction. A police officer might immediately tell you that the caller isn’t legitimate.

The criminal wants to prevent those people from getting involved.

Stop. Hang Up. Verify.

The FBI’s advice is refreshingly simple.

If you receive an unexpected call from someone claiming to be the FBI or another law enforcement agency, hang up.

Don’t use the number the caller gives you to verify their identity. Don’t rely on caller ID. Don’t continue communicating through an application they tell you to download.

Instead, find the agency’s legitimate contact information yourself and call it directly.

If someone claims to be calling from a particular FBI field office, for example, look up that office independently. If someone claims to be from your local police department, find the department’s number through an independently verified source and call it yourself.

That extra step can break the scam.

If you believe you’ve been targeted, preserve the evidence. Keep phone numbers, emails, text messages, banking records, payment information, and other communications. Contact your financial institution if money or account information was involved, notify local law enforcement, and report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Most importantly, don’t be embarrassed.

These criminals deliberately manufacture fear and urgency. They may have information about you that makes their story sound convincing. They may know your name, address, or other personal details. They may even make your phone tell you that the call is coming from a legitimate government number.

None of that proves who is actually on the other end of the line.

The most important identification tool you have isn’t caller ID.

It’s your ability to stop, hang up, and verify.

Because when a scammer can make a criminal halfway across the country look like the FBI calling from down the street, answering the phone isn’t the dangerous part. Believing the caller without checking is.