Criminals are risking the FTC trying to steal your money and information

It can be frightening if a government agency calls and tells you to take the time or you will face jail time. You may even make reckless decisions out of fear, just to make the problem go away.

Many victims do the same, handing over their financial information to fraudsters who hope to get stuck. The Federal Trade Commission is warning people about impostor scams where fraudsters pretend to be from government agencies like the FTC to steal your bank account information, and maybe even identity.

“We take this seriously when scammers claim that the FTC chair is working to help you get out of trouble or are charged with serious crimes,” the agency wrote in a recent blog post. “No one on the FTC will call, email or text you to say anything.”

Impostor scams are not new, but advances in AI are helping them become more common and convincing. For example, scammers use AI to mask their position, voice, and faces. The more they can convince you that they are someone else, the more likely they will be to succeed in obtaining the crime.

For criminals, it’s worth it. According to the FTC, the impostor scam caused $2.95 billion in losses in 2024, the second highest disruptive scam after investor scams. The government impostor scam specifically cost $789 million, up from $618 million the previous year.

What is an FTC impostor scam?

The FTC Imposter scam works similar to any other Imposter scam. Criminals will contact you via phone, text message or email while pretending to be an FTC, they will try to hang carrots in free cash, or scare you into thinking you are in trouble with the law.

Some examples of FTC impostor scams include:

• You are part of a settlement in a large class action lawsuit and the “FTC” requires access to your bank account to hold your partial settlement.
• “FTC” requests that you can pay a small fee in advance before any form of large expenses.
• Your account has been violated and members of the FTC are on standby to help you.
• If you do get caught up in one of these scams, it can be more challenging to find someone in one of the agencies to help eliminate losses in recent layoffs at the entire government agency, including the FTC.

Targeting the most vulnerable

The scams behind the strategy are like impostor scams, knowing that some groups may be more vulnerable than others, and may not know much about the role and coverage of the FTC and therefore are more likely to fall into the trap.

Older people are often affected by impostor scams, and criminals know that our predecessors may have more respect for the authority of government agencies and therefore give them more time and attention. It is the time for scammers to build trust, which is crucial to launching a scam.

According to the FTC, people aged 60 and 60 lost $2.4 billion in 2024 due to fraud, while people aged 60 to 69 lost more than anyone else’s age group. Since 2020, the number of older Americans who have lost more than $100,000 in a given year has more than tripled.

For these victims, it’s not just the money they lost, although it can be devastating. Kathy Stokes, director of the AARP Fraud Prevention Program, said in a March AARP post that fraud could lead to emotional and health risks, making elderly people more dependent on government safety nets than the retirement nest eggs they work to build.

How to discover and avoid impostor scams

Most impostor scams have the same Telltale giveaway as any other fraud – it’s all about context. This is how to identify FTC and other impostor scams, so you won’t get stuck for them.

• A request, offer or threat is not ordinary. When was any of the last time the FTC or any other government agency contacted you? Have you ever had any communication or relationship with the FTC before? Have you ever done something they accuse you?
• Someone told you to send money. The FTC will never ask you to transfer or remit money, threaten or promise prizes.
• It feels wrong. Why does FTC help you transfer money to a safer account? Or invest in cryptocurrencies? Or pay a fine with a gift card? no. If the information you are told sounds confusing, trust your intuition. The FTC may contact you only when submitting a report. If you do so, the spokesperson will have a reference number for the report.
• Consider communication methods. Governments tend to send notifications in writing and send them by mail. So, doubt the text, email or phone number, claiming they are government agencies.
• There is an unusual sense of urgency. If you are anxious to take action or make a decision, it is a clear signal that this is a scam. You should always check the information you are being told or have time to consult professional advice. The most powerful weapon to fight any scam is to stop and think. Stop, collect your thoughts, don’t rush, don’t be bullied and take a deep breath.
• You will receive threats. If you are threatened with arrest, legal action, fines, contacting your employer or freezing payments, and they refuse to mail you any documents or evidence, it is usually an obvious sign of a scam.

What if you become a victim of an impostor scam?

If you have been a victim of an impostor scam, your next move depends on the severity of the scam you fell:

• If you have made a payment or bank transfer, contact your bank or credit union immediately to see if you can cancel and reverse the payment. If you give them a credit card number, please contact the issuance card to report fraud.
• If you give scammers access to any type of account, cancel the account, contact the fraud department and change your password. Also change any other password to an account with the same login credentials.
• If you provide your Social Insurance Number And you haven’t done so, please put a fraud alert and credit freeze in your credit report. You can also consider Register for Identity Theft Protection Service Like a halo or Credit monitoring services Like Experian, you can monitor your identity online.
• Share your story with family and friends so they can learn from your experience.
• Report a scam to the FTC to help raise awareness of the scam and help protect others.
• Report it to your local police station. It can remind them of similar scams in the area and help them promote them to the local community.