Government Impersonator Scams

What To Know About Government Impersonation Scams

A government impersonation scam often starts with a call, email, text, or social media message from someone who says they’re with a government agency. They might give you their “employee ID number” to sound official. And they might have information about you, like your name or home address.

They often say they work for the FTC, Social Security Administration, IRS, or Medicare — but sometimes they give you fake agency names, like the non-existent National Sweepstakes Bureau. They’ll also give you some reason why you need to send money or give them your personal information immediately. If you get a call or message like this, hang up or ignore it. It’s a scammer.

Government agencies will never call, email, text, or message you on social media to ask for money or personal information. Only a scammer will do that.

Be especially vigilant at this time of year as the annual benefit enrollment period for Medicare approaches.

How to avoid the scam

  • Don’t wire money or use gift cards, cryptocurrency, or a payment app to pay someone who says they’re with the government. Scammers insist you can only pay these ways because it’s hard to track that money, and just as hard to get it back. They’ll take your money and disappear.

  • Don’t give your financial or personal information to someone who calls, texts, emails, or messages you on social media and says they’re with the government. If you think a call or message could be real, stop. Hang up the phone and call the government agency directly at a number you know is correct. If the call is a robocall, don’t press any numbers. Pressing numbers could lead to more calls.

  • Don’t trust your caller ID. Your caller ID might show the government agency’s real phone number or name — like “Social Security Administration.” But caller ID can be faked. It could be anyone calling from anywhere in the world.

  • Don’t click on links in unexpected emails, texts, or social media messages. Scammers send emails and messages that look like they’re from a government agency but are designed to steal your money and personal information. Don’t click on any link, and don’t pass it on to others. Just delete the message.

Grandkid and Family Scams - Using a Family Code Word

Last time, we talked about how scammers rely on urgency or panic to prompt their victims to act immediately on their fraudulent requests. There is another emerging threat, however. With the rise of artificial intelligence (A.I.), the ability for machines to mimic human voices and speech patterns now exists. The sound of these computer-generated voices can be extremely convincing, causing the victim to believe they are actually speaking with a loved one. Increasing prevalence of A.I. is one reason to consider letting unknown numbers go straight to voicemail. Your voice could be recorded and be quickly and easily spoofed. But that is a topic for another day.

One method to help stop these scammers and “bots” is to have a family code word or “safe word”. This is a secret word or phrase that cannot be found out by someone who is scouring social media sites. For example, this is the same concept used with children to teach them not to get into a stranger’s car unless that person knows the code word.

The code word doesn’t have to be complicated, but should not be a word that is used daily or would be easy to find out via social media. Not a pet’s name or a nickname. Choose a word or phrase that someone outside of the family would never guess. Be creative and think out of the box; it could be a word or phrase that is an inside joke, or something completely random and off-the-wall. Be sure to practice the word with your loved ones for several weeks in private so that can be remembered if it is needed.

One problem with a code word is that it’s hard to remember because is not - and should not - be used often. Periodically review your code word with loved ones and see if they can remember it. Change your family code word once it is used.

When a scam caller or bot doesn’t know or use the word, you can assume that it is a scam. If they cannot provide the code word, hang up. By implementing a family code word, you can help your loved ones reduce their vulnerability to phone scams.

Grandkid and Family Scams

One of the most heartbreaking scams is one where the victim receives a call, text or email from a loved one claiming that they’re in trouble and need financial help. It happens all to often and can decimate your savings in the blink of an eye. And that’s on top of the emotional damage from being the victim of a scam.

In the heat of the moment, and because the caller stresses that it’s urgent, it can be easy to believe that it really is your grandchild or other loved one who’s in trouble. Scammers are really good at convincing you that they are someone they’re not. Information gleaned from social media or a hacked account can make the scam even more convincing. The get you to send money right away before you have time to think about it or check out their story.

Before sending money, take a breath and try to verify the information. Call the family member’s number directly and speak to them. Have another family member verify the claim as well.

What else to do: Report the scam to the FTC (information at the bottom of this page) and let other friends know of the scam. It could happen to them to, and the more we spread awareness, the sooner we can try to slow down or stop the scammers