Government impostor scams and how real agencies reach you

A government impostor gets in touch by phone, email, text or social media and pretends to work for a real agency, or for one that sounds real. The story is that you owe money, your benefits are about to stop, or you've won a prize. Whatever the story, they want a payment or your personal details before you have time to check.

What they say

• Social Security. Your benefits will end or your Social Security number will be suspended unless you pay right away, sometimes with a threat of arrest.
• The IRS. You owe taxes that must be paid immediately, or you'll be arrested, deported or lose your driver's license.
• Medicare. You need to pay for a "new" card, or give your number for a claim on medical equipment you don't remember ordering.
• A sheriff or a court. There's a warrant for your arrest, or a penalty for missing jury duty, and you have to pay now to stay out of jail.
• Immigration. There's a problem with your application or petition, and paying will fix it.
• The FTC, or a made-up agency. You've won a federally supervised lottery or sweepstakes and must pay taxes or a fee first, or they have money for you and need your bank account number. Some use the names of real FTC staff.

How they want to be paid

Scammers ask for a wire transfer, gift cards, cryptocurrency or a payment app. Some tell you to withdraw cash or buy gold and hand it over. Money sent those ways is hard to trace and hard to get back.

How the real agencies get in touch

Government agencies don't call, email, text or message you on social media to ask for money or personal information.

• Social Security doesn't threaten you or suspend your Social Security number, and doesn't demand payment by phone, email, text or social media.
• The IRS contacts you by mail. It doesn't call about taxes unless you have an appointment, and it never threatens arrest. A private debt collector working for the IRS calls only after you've received two letters, and never takes payment over the phone.
• Medicare sends new cards automatically, at no cost. It contacts you by phone only if you called 1-800-MEDICARE first and left a message.
• The FTC never threatens you, never tells you to move money to protect it, and never asks you to withdraw cash or buy gold. Refunds from FTC cases arrive by check, prepaid debit card or PayPal.

An annotated example

What to do next

Hang up, or ignore the message, and don't trust the caller ID. Don't call back a number the caller gave you, and don't click links in an email, text or social media message you weren't expecting.

To check, contact the agency yourself at a number you know is right. For the IRS, check your tax account online or call 800-829-1040. For Medicare, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). For Social Security, use the number on its website, and find other federal agencies' contacts at usa.gov. If you gave a scammer your personal information, go to IdentityTheft.gov for the recovery steps.