Family 3 of 11
Government and authority impersonation
Scammers posing as tax agencies, police, courts, toll authorities, or senior officials to demand payment or personal data.
Scam types
- Tax agency and benefits impersonation
A tax agency impersonation scam is a call, text, or email from someone posing as a tax office, social security, or immigration agency. They claim you owe money, your benefits or
- Police impersonation and digital arrest
A digital arrest scam is when criminals posing as police, customs, or a national investigation agency accuse you of a crime, such as a parcel with drugs in your name. They keep you
- Toll and traffic fine smishing
Toll smishing is a text message that pretends to come from a toll road operator, motor vehicle agency, or parking authority, saying you owe a small unpaid toll or fine. The link
- Jury duty and arrest warrant scam
A jury duty scam is a call or message from someone posing as a court officer, sheriff, or marshal who says you missed jury duty or a court date and now face an arrest warrant. They
- Senior official AI voice impersonation
Senior official voice impersonation is a campaign where attackers send texts and AI-generated voice messages that sound like a senior government official. The aim is to build
- Fake FBI or IC3 contact
A fake FBI or IC3 contact is a scam where criminals pose as FBI agents or staff of the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, usually targeting people who already lost money. They
- Fake regulator recovery scam
A fake regulator scam is when criminals pose as a financial regulator, government department, or police unit and say they have found or recovered money you lost, often in crypto
Real cases
2025-12 · IN · Alleged · $48.7M estimate
Operation Chakra: CBI and FBI raid a Noida scam call centre, 20252025-05 · US · Disclosed
FBI warns of AI voice messages impersonating senior US officials, 20252020-11 · US · Sentenced · $25M estimate
Ahmedabad call centres' IRS and USCIS impersonation: owner sentenced, 2020