The call opens with a claim that the listener’s phone number is registered to a scam operation overseas, and a threat that the number will be deactivated unless the listener cooperates. The caller says he or she works for the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC says that is a script, and in a consumer alert published Oct. 22 and updated Oct. 27 it describes how callers posing as its officials hand victims to a fake police officer and then press for a “security deposit.”
The alert, written by the agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection staff, lays out the sequence in order. Anyone who gets a call with these features should treat it as a scam, the FTC says, because a real employee of the agency never behaves this way.
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How does the call unfold?
The first caller may read out a fake badge ID, the FTC says, and threatens to deactivate the phone number if the listener does not cooperate. Next comes the transfer: the caller passes the listener to a fake police officer to “file a report.” If the listener hesitates, the scammers may suggest calling the police department directly, using a number they tell the listener to find online, and the people who pick up that call are the scammers.
At the report stage the callers ask for ID and other personal information and tell the listener to keep the conversation secret. Later the story turns to arrest. The people on the line claim the listener is being arrested over scams tied to the number and must travel to another country, and say the problem can be avoided by sending money as a “security deposit.” The alert does not give a dollar figure for the deposit.
What does a real FTC employee never do?
The agency’s alert names four things a genuine employee never does:
- Ask someone to send money, or connect them to a person who does
- Threaten to disconnect a phone
- Tell someone to keep a conversation secret
- Text a photo of an employee ID to “verify” who is calling
Any one of those is enough to end the call. The secrecy request deserves attention because it keeps the listener from checking the story with a relative, a bank or a neighbor.
Why does the callback number matter?
A number supplied by the caller leads back to the caller. The fake-police step of the script gets around doubt by inviting it: the scammers let the listener “verify” them, then answer the verification call themselves. A police department or a federal agency can be reached through its own published number, found independently, and a call that cannot survive that check is the scam.
The FTC points readers who want to learn the signs to its guide on avoiding imposter scams. People who already gave out an ID number or other details during a call like this are in a different position from those who hung up, and for them the next steps are about the accounts that information could open.
Is this the only fake-agency script?
No. The FTC’s guide to government impersonation scams, last modified Aug. 13, says impersonators of the FTC, Social Security, the IRS and Medicare reach people by call, email, text or social media. They may give a fake “employee ID,” and caller ID can be faked. They demand payment by wire transfer, gift card, cryptocurrency or payment app because that money is hard to trace and recover.
A June 15 FTC alert adds two lines that fit the phone-number call. Real agencies never say money is not safe and has to be moved to protect it, and they never demand payment by payment app, cryptocurrency, wire transfer or gift card. The same alert says people lost about $16 billion to scams in 2025, up from $12.8 billion a year earlier, and that the total likely understates the damage because not everyone reports.
The guide says the FTC will never threaten anyone, ask them to move money to “protect it,” or ask them to withdraw cash or buy gold. Its advice is to hang up or ignore the contact, skip links in unexpected messages and use a number known to be correct for the agency, not the one the caller supplies. People who gave out personal information are sent to IdentityTheft.gov.
The June alert also points to the “Never Ever” campaign toolkit at ejcc.acl.gov, a set of materials to help people recognize, avoid and report imposter scams, and asks people to share what they learn with the hashtags #StopGovImposters and #StopBizImposters.
Where does the FTC want a report?
Suspected scams go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov, the alert says, and the guide adds that people can also tell their state attorney general. The alert does not describe a hotline for this specific call, so the website is the route the agency names.
Could a caller who knows your number get to your accounts?
The callers in the FTC’s alert ask for ID and other personal information, then tell the listener to keep the conversation secret. Details handed over on a call like that can be used long after the call ends.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
