Callers pose as police or officials. The FBI's September 2026 alert

The problem

On 17 September 2026 the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center issued a public service announcement about scammers who pose as US or foreign law enforcement or government officials. The aim is to take money or personal information.

The alert says that from January 2025 to July 2026, IC3 received nearly 61,000 complaints about this kind of impersonation. Reported losses were above 1.6 billion dollars.

How it can happen

According to the alert, the contact is usually a phone call, but scammers also use texts and emails. They often spoof real numbers, names and agency credentials. They use urgent and aggressive tactics, keep victims on the line and urge them to keep the call secret.

The stories vary. Victims are accused of crimes and threatened with arrest, or told they missed jury duty, missed a court date and now have a warrant, or have an expiring passport or licence. Medical and other licensed professionals have been targeted with threats to their licences, and foreign nationals and international students with threats of extradition or passport cancellation.

The FBI says scammers use AI, video calls, fake uniforms and mock government offices to look legitimate. They demand payment by prepaid card, courier, wire, cryptocurrency or cash deposited into crypto kiosks.

How to avoid it

The FBI states what authorities never do. They do not contact members of the public by phone or text to demand any form of payment or to request personal or sensitive information. They never request payment by prepaid card, cryptocurrency or courier.

1. Do not share personal information until you have verified who is contacting you.
2. Verify using official, publicly available contact information, not details given by the person who contacted you.
3. Check web addresses. The FBI says to confirm that the domain matches the official agency, which ends in .gov, and to watch for lookalike domains or wrong extensions such as .com.
4. Stop all contact with the scammers and notify your financial institutions if money moved.
5. Report it to your local law enforcement and file a complaint at ic3.gov, with the scammer's phone numbers and email addresses, bank account details, cryptocurrency addresses, payment records and any texts or emails. Keep all financial records and communications.

The FTC has described a parallel pattern in which callers claim to be local sheriffs and say a package in your name holds illegal items, then demand a fine. Even if a real officer's name or a real number is used, the FTC says it is not a real officer calling.

For related reading, see the jury duty warrant scam, the courier collecting cash or gold and how to check a government call.

Things to watch

• A caller who accuses you of a crime.
• A caller who tells you to stay on the line or keep the matter secret.
• A threat to your licence, your passport or your immigration status.
• A video call with an official-looking office or uniform.
• A demand for payment by prepaid card, crypto, wire or a crypto kiosk.
• A courier sent to collect cash.
• A link that goes to a .com address that claims to be a government agency.

If you are unsure, the simplest step is to end the call and look up the real agency yourself. Nothing is lost by taking a few minutes.