The FBI has warned Americans about an ‘insidious new twist’ on an old fraud scheme that can fool victims even when they try to verify who is calling. Scammers posing as FBI, DEA and Secret Service agents are spoofing genuine agency phone numbers and using real agents’ names to make their calls appear legitimate. When victims contact the real field office, staff may confirm that the named agent works there. That answer can create false reassurance because confirming someone’s employment does not establish whether they actually made the call. In a separate nationwide alert, the FBI warned that impersonators commonly accuse victims of crimes and demand payments to avoid arrest or prosecution. The warning, released by the FBI Newark office in New Jersey, also described one fraudster staging a video call to resemble an FBI office, complete with a desk, an FBI seal and a man in a suit. The FBI alert warned Americans to 'never send money to anyone claiming to be a federal law enforcement agent' and to verify agency phone numbers and identities of agents.

'Tell the person who answers that you believe you may be the target of a scam and want to confirm whether a real agent is contacting you,' the agency said. The FBI released the notice on September 29, saying: 'Victims in New Jersey have reported criminals posing as FBI, DEA, and Secret Service agents, a scheme that has existed for decades. 'The new twist involves tactics that make it extremely difficult for potential victims to verify whether they are being targeted.' Scammers are using spoofed numbers to trick victims, which is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information sent to your caller ID to hide their real identity and make the call look like it is coming from a different, often trusted number.

This makes the call appear to come from a real FBI office. 'They introduce themselves using the names of real federal agents. When victims call these field offices to confirm the agent’s identity, the person who answers verifies that the agent does, in fact, work there,' the FBI said. 'In some cases, victims are unable to speak with someone but assume the call is legitimate because the phone number appears authentic.'

The agency explained that if people are unable to reach someone at a local office to verify information, they can contact the agency’s main office in Washington DC. The alert was an update to a notice posted on September 17, which stated that the FBI had received nearly 61,000 complaints about the impersonation scam between January 2025 and July 2026. The losses totaled more than $1.6 billion. The FBI warned that scammers may use urgent or aggressive language and insist on speaking only to their intended victim. They may also keep victims on the phone throughout the scam and pressure them to keep the call secret from family, friends, banks and law enforcement.

'The scammers demand payment through a variety of methods, including prepaid cards, couriers, bank wires, cryptocurrency, or cash inserted into cryptocurrency kiosks,' the agency added. The earlier alert also noted that these scammers are also telling victim's that their passport, driver’s license, or professional license is expiring and demand payment for renewal. 'Scammers may also target Americans from different ethnic communities, foreign nationals, or international students in the US,' the FBI said. 'The scammers, impersonating foreign law enforcement agencies or US-based foreign diplomatic officials, may threaten victims associated with these nations with extradition or the canceling of their home country passport.'