Did the IRS call you out of the blue and threaten legal action? It wasn’t the tax man — more likely it was an imposter scam. It’s a type of fraud that’s become increasingly more common.
“An imposter scam is when a scammer lies and pretends to be someone they’re not to trick you into giving them money, access to your financial accounts or your personal information,” according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
These scams are also getting more sophisticated, as criminals discover ways to convince potential victims they’re actually from the government agency or institution they claim to be representing.
So, what do these scams look like, and how can you protect yourself?
The following are six of the most common types of imposter scams:
Government impersonation scams: Unless they’re returning your call or email, legitimate government agencies typically contact you by letter before they call — so consider unexpected contact through phone, text or email to be suspicious. These scams often involve fraudsters posing as the IRS, saying you owe money and threatening legal action, or as someone from the Social Security Administration offering to increase your benefits.
Unemployment scams: Scammers may sometimes use your personal information to file for unemployment benefits under your name.
Grandparent scams: Fraudsters contact elderly people and pretend to be their grandchild or another young relative in need of emergency financial help. They use personal information gathered from social media or purchased from other cyber criminals. These fraudsters can be very sophisticated, faking the caller ID of the grandchild and using AI to fake their voice.
Charity scams: These scammers pretend they’re from a charity and try to convince you to donate. They will often ask you to pay by cash, gift card or by wiring money, rather than safer methods like a credit card or check.
Tech support scams: A fraudster posing as an IT professional leads you to believe there’s a security issue with your computer. You may have even found their “support” number online from a fake website. They may attempt to convince you to give them control of your device remotely, which could result in them swiping your personal information.
Bank or business scams: In this case, you get a call from someone posing as a bank employee alerting you to an urgent issue with your account. These fraudsters then try to extract your banking information, such as passwords and PINs, which they then use to access your account.
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Anyone can fall victim to fraud but the elderly may be particularly vulnerable.
In 2024, Americans aged 60-plus reported the highest number of reported incidents (147,127) and cumulative losses ($4.8 billion) to internet fraud, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report 2024.
That’s nearly two times the losses suffered by the next highest-impacted age group (50 to 59) and more than twice as many incidents as reported by those aged 20 to 29.
Note these stats are associated with internet crimes, which include more than imposter scams.
The FTC recommends that you “be suspicious of any call from a government agency asking for money or information.” You can’t necessarily trust caller ID anymore since it can be faked.
An easy warning sign that you’re talking to an imposter? They want you to pay via gift cards, wire transfer or cryptocurrency.
While scammers often create a sense of urgency to pressure you into handing over your hard-earned cash, it’s best to hang up the phone or ignore suspicious emails and then contact the person, agency or company that got in touch with you by looking up a publicly available phone number — not using one they gave you.
If you’ve been scammed, immediately report it to your local police department and the FTC. If you were the victim of an internet crime, you can also contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
If you suffered a loss, the FTC recommends contacting your bank, credit card company, gift card company or wire transfer company.
If you think the fraudsters may have remote access to your computer, run a scan with your computer’s security software (update it if necessary), which may help identify anything problematic.
Any passwords you’ve shared or think may be compromised should be changed immediately. It’s recommended you have a unique password for each account.
If you’ve given scammers access to other personal information, like your Social Security number, you could wind up the victim of identity theft. Visit IdentityTheft.gov to learn about next steps to take.
With advances in technology like artificial intelligence, imposters are getting much better at impersonating others. Your defense begins with educating yourself and maintaining a healthy level of suspicion whenever you’re unexpectedly contacted.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
