Spot and Avoid Government Impersonation Scams

Government or government impersonator scams usually begin the same: with a phone call.
 
A scammer will call you pretending that they work for the government. They may claim that they work in a specific branch like the IRS, Social Security Administration, Medicare, or your state’s tax department. Sometimes they will also make up a government agency that sounds legitimate.
 
Usually, they will claim that you owe them money for some reason, like not paying enough taxes, receiving too much in Social Security benefits or not receiving your Medicare premium. Or they may claim you’ve been implicated in a crime and need to pay a fine or move your money to protect it.
 
The scam is ultimately always the same: a request for you to send money. These scammers will be very insistent and sometimes even threatening. They may say that you could be at risk of going to jail because of these unpaid charges. They may also ask for your personal information – which they can later use to steal your identity.
 
Remember, government agencies will never call you asking for money or for personal information.
 
Government scams can also come from emails, text messages or – more rarely nowadays – postal mail. They may try a phishing scam, where the text or email looks deceptively similar to the real thing.

What to remember

Government agencies will NEVER call you, text you, or email you asking for money or for personal information. Expect real correspondence to come in the mail.

Common government scams

Here’s a collection of common government-related scams. Almost every government scam is some variation of one of the scams listed here.
 

• Social Security scam: These scams come from impersonators who say that there’s an issue with your Social Security benefits. They may ask for your Social Security number, which can be used to steal your identity.
• IRS scam: Fraudsters involved in IRS scams will often scare you by claiming that you owe back taxes, fees, and penalties and may threaten you.
• FTC scam: A scammer will say they’re from the FTC and may ask for money or personal details, like your Social Security number.
• Medicare scam: These scammers may claim that you owe money to Medicare or that you have to provide your Social Security number in order to access your benefits.
• Student loan relief: These scammers will tell you that they can help you get your student loans forgiven or canceled – usually if you pay them a fee first.
• “Consumer Protection Agency” scam: First things first, there is no official government consumer protection agency. If someone claims to be from that agency, you should ignore them immediately.
• Local government agencies: Beware of anyone calling pretending to be from a state, county, or other local government agency. They may try to tell you that you’re behind on state taxes or property taxes and attempt to collect money from you. If you do owe money to one of these agencies, you’ll get a bill in the mail.
• Immigration: A scammer may call pretending to be from an immigration agency and ask for money to process a form or to pay back “fees” that they claim you’ve incurred. Sometimes they will claim to be immigration lawyers who can help you, but will actually not do anything.

How to avoid becoming a victim

If someone contacts you saying they’re from the government and you owe them money, you should never send it to them.
 
The IRS may send you a letter stating that you owe money, but before you hand over a check, you should verify that statement by going to the official IRS website and logging onto your account. You can also call the IRS directly at 800.829.1040.
 
If someone contacts you first, never give out your personal information over the phone, especially your Social Security number or your bank account information. These details can be used by someone to steal your identity, gain access to your bank accounts or open credit accounts in your name.
 
Be suspicious if you receive an email or text from a government agency. If the email or text asks you to click on a link to log in or provide personal information, stop what you’re doing. Instead, visit the agency website directly from a different browser. It doesn’t matter how credible the email, text or link looks – never click on something like that.
 
Don’t be fooled by the Caller ID either. Caller ID can often mimic a real agency and be used to trick people who think they’re actually being contacted by the government. It’s also usually best to ignore calls from numbers you don’t have saved in your phone.
 
If you have been talking to a purported representative from a government agency, they may ask you to send them money in the form of gift cards, cash, or cryptocurrency. These are methods that are much harder to trace and recover, even if you were scammed. This is also one of the biggest tell-tale signs that you’re dealing with a scammer.

What to do if you are a victim

If you are hoodwinked by a scammer, you should contact your bank as soon as possible to get your money back. Make sure to explain what happened and provide as many details as you possibly can.
 
You should also file a report with the following agencies:

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
• Your state’s attorney general’s office

 
If you’re worried that your identity has been stolen, you should also visit the FTC’s identity theft homepage for more tips, and read our article.
 
Freezing your credit may also be a good idea, especially if you gave out your Social Security number. Freezing your credit means no one should be able to open a credit account in your name, even if they have all of your identifying information.
 

 
This article was created in accordance with the Patelco editorial policy.