Texts, calls, and impersonation
Pretended to be a bank, government agency, or tech support
The caller ID says your bank. The voice knows your name. They're from the fraud department, or the Social Security Administration, or Microsoft, or Amazon, and something is wrong with your account. Impersonation is the most-reported fraud category at the FTC, with $3.5 billion lost in 2025.
What it looks like
- 'This is the fraud department. Did you authorize a $1,200 transfer?'
- 'Your Social Security number has been suspended' or 'used in a crime in Texas'.
- 'Your computer is sending us error messages, let us connect and fix it.'
- A callback number, a case number, and a badge number, all invented.
How do you know if a call from your bank is really your bank?
Caller ID can be spoofed to show any name and number, so the phone lies. A little public information makes the caller sound informed. The story always has a problem and a way for them to solve it, and solving it needs your codes, remote access, or your money moved 'somewhere safe'. Real organizations don't cold-call to ask for those things, but under pressure it's hard to remember that.
What to do
- Hang up and call back using the number on your card, statement, or the official website. Never the number they gave you.
- Never give remote access to your computer or read out a code to a caller.
- If you moved money or gave details, act now.
- Report it to the FTC and, for government impersonation, the agency's own inspector general.
More in the tips: Texts and calls.
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