FBI: Law Enforcement and Government Impersonation Scams Have Cost More Than $1.6 Billion

Between January 2025 and July 2026, the FBI's IC3 received nearly 61,000 complaints of law enforcement or government impersonation scams, with losses over $1.6 billion. Scammers primarily call, but also text and email, often spoofing authentic phone numbers, email addresses, and employee names of well-known agencies. They use urgent, aggressive tones, keep you on the phone, and urge you not to tell anyone, then demand payment via prepaid cards, couriers, bank wires, or cryptocurrency.

Two new elements make this harder to spot. Scammers use AI to appear as officials on video calls, adding the appearance of legitimacy. And they have new pretexts beyond the usual crime and jury-duty threats: claims that your passport, driver's license, or professional license is expiring and must be renewed for a fee (medical practitioners report license-revocation threats), and threats of extradition or passport cancellation aimed at people from foreign countries. Law enforcement will never call or text to demand payment or personal information.