Government impersonation scams: Social Security, IRS, Medicare, and fake arrest threats
People reported losing about $920 million to government impersonators in 2025. What real agencies will never do, the scripts scammers use, and where to verify and report.
Key takeaways
- People reported losing about $920 million to government impersonators in 2025, up from $789 million in 2024, according to the FTC.
- Government agencies do not call, text, or email to demand immediate payment, and they never take gift cards, crypto, wire transfers, or payment apps.
- Your Social Security number cannot be suspended. There is no such thing.
- Caller ID can show a real agency's number and still be fake. Hang up and call the number from the agency's official website or a letter you trust.
- No real official will tell you to move your money to protect it, or to keep a matter secret from your family or bank.
Borrowed authority
A call from "the government" works because it arrives with authority already attached. You did not choose to deal with the IRS or Social Security, you cannot take your business elsewhere, and most of us carry a low-level worry that we missed a form somewhere. Scammers borrow all of that.
The FTC reported in June 2026 that people lost about $920 million to government impersonators in 2025, up from $789 million the year before. Imposter scams of all kinds remained the most reported fraud, with more than 1 million reports.
What every real agency has in common
Whatever the agency, a genuine official contact will never:
- Threaten you with immediate arrest, deportation, or loss of a license unless you pay now
- Demand payment by gift card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, payment app, or cash handed to a courier
- Tell you to move your money to a "safe" or "government" account to protect it
- Ask you to keep the matter secret from your family, your bank, or a lawyer
- Ask you to read out a verification code
- Suspend your Social Security number
- Insist you stay on the phone while you go to the bank or a store
A real matter arrives in writing, gives you time, tells you how to appeal, and can be checked by calling a number you find yourself.
The scripts
Social Security
"Your Social Security number has been linked to criminal activity and has been suspended. Press 1 to speak with an officer." The follow-up call may come from "the DEA" or "the FBI", sometimes with badge numbers, case numbers, and emailed letters on convincing letterhead. The goal is to make you move your savings "for safekeeping".
The IRS and the Treasury
A demand for back taxes with a threat of arrest, or a text about an unclaimed refund with a link. In tax season, fake "IRS" emails ask you to verify your identity. The IRS says its first contact is normally a letter, and you can check your real balance in your account at irs.gov.
Medicare
Calls offering a new card, a free brace or genetic test, or asking to "verify" your Medicare number. Medicare will not call to sell you anything or ask for your number unprompted. Your Medicare number is as valuable to a criminal as a card number. Check your statements for services you did not receive.
Courts and police
"You missed jury duty and a warrant has been issued. Pay the fine now to avoid arrest." The FTC issued an alert about this in June 2026, noting that callers may use the names of real officers and judges and follow up with documents that look official. Courts do not collect fines by phone.
Customs, immigration, and embassies
A package in your name has been seized, or there is a problem with your visa, and a fee or a "bond" will resolve it. Immigrants and international students are targeted heavily with threats of deportation.
Toll agencies and the DMV
Texts about unpaid tolls or a suspended license. These are covered in toll text scams.
The FTC and the FBI themselves
Scammers also pose as the agencies that fight fraud, often offering to recover money you lost before. See recovery scams.
Why they sound real
- Caller ID is faked. The number on your screen may be the agency's real number. It proves nothing.
- They know things about you. Your name, address, and part of your Social Security number are widely available from data breaches.
- They send paperwork. Letters with seals, badge photos, and case numbers are easy to produce.
- They transfer you. Being passed from a "clerk" to an "officer" to a "supervisor" feels like a bureaucracy. It is three people in the same room, or one person with three voices.
- They keep you on the phone. Isolation and time pressure stop you from checking.
What to do when the call comes
- Hang up. You do not need to be polite, and you will not be arrested for hanging up.
- Do not press any number, including the one that supposedly removes you from the list.
- If you are worried it might be real, find the agency's number on its official .gov website or on a letter you know is genuine, and call that.
- Check your actual accounts: your my Social Security account at ssa.gov, your IRS account at irs.gov, your Medicare statements.
- Tell someone. Saying the story out loud to another person is often all it takes to hear how strange it is.
Where to report
| Impersonated agency | Report to |
|---|---|
| Any | ReportFraud.ftc.gov |
| Social Security | oig.ssa.gov |
| IRS or Treasury | tigta.gov, and forward emails to phishing@irs.gov |
| Medicare | 1-800-MEDICARE |
| A court or police | Your local court or police, using a number you look up |
| Online contact of any kind | IC3.gov |
If you have already paid or shared information
- Paid: contact the bank, card issuer, gift card company, or app at once. See how to get your money back.
- Shared your Social Security number: place a credit freeze and make a plan at IdentityTheft.gov.
- Shared your Medicare number: call 1-800-MEDICARE and watch your statements.
- Moved money to a "safe account": call your bank's fraud line immediately and file at IC3.gov the same day.
Common questions
Will Social Security ever call me?
Occasionally, usually if you already have business with them. But Social Security will never threaten arrest, suspend your number, demand immediate payment, or ask for gift cards, crypto, or wire transfers. If you get such a call, hang up and report it at oig.ssa.gov.
Does the IRS call or text about taxes owed?
The IRS normally makes first contact by letter through the U.S. mail. It does not demand immediate payment by phone, threaten to bring in police, or ask for payment by gift card or crypto. It does not start contact by text or social media. You can check what you owe by logging into your account at irs.gov.
Can my Social Security number be suspended?
No. Social Security numbers are not suspended, frozen, or cancelled because of suspicious activity. Any message saying so is a scam.
I got a call saying there is a warrant for missing jury duty. Is it real?
No. Courts do not phone people to demand payment for missed jury duty, and they do not accept fines by gift card, payment app, or crypto. The FTC issued an alert about this script in June 2026. If you are concerned, look up your local court's number yourself and call.
Official sources and further reading
- FTC, June 2026: imposter scam losses in 2025, including government impersonators
- FTC consumer alert, June 2026: threats of arrest for missing jury duty
- FTC: How To Avoid a Scam
- Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General: report a scam
- IRS: recognize tax scams and fraud
- Medicare
Published September 21, 2026, last updated September 21, 2026. This guide is general education for people in the United States. It is not legal or financial advice, and it cannot tell you whether a particular message or person is genuine. Spot an error? Tell us.