NewsCompaniesFlawsGuides
Get the app

FTC scam call: 'a phone in your name is used for crimes abroad' is a scam, so hang up

From the HARD Situation Room · First reported
For everything else happening in security now, see the Situation Room.

The FTC warned on 22 October that callers pose as FTC officials, may read out a badge ID, and say a phone registered in your name is being used for scams in another country. They threaten to deactivate your number, then pass you to a fake police officer. If you hesitate they tell you to look up the police number yourself, and scammers answer it. They ask for ID and personal details and tell you to keep it all secret. Later they say you are under arrest and must travel abroad unless you send a 'security deposit'. The FTC says none of it is true. A real FTC employee will never ask you to send money, threaten to disconnect your phone, tell you to keep a conversation secret, or text a photo of an ID to verify who they are.

Current event. First reported . Details may change as more becomes known; updates will be added to the timeline.

Timeline

  1. HARD publishes its alert, at Watch.

What to do

  1. Hang up.
  2. Don't call back a number the caller gives you, and don't pay a 'deposit' or move money to 'protect' it.
  3. Report the call at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
  4. If you already shared ID details or paid, call your bank at once on the number on your card, and consider a credit freeze.
  5. Tell older parents and grandparents about this one: agree that no government agency ever needs a secret, and that they should ring a family member before doing anything a caller says.

References

  1. Federal Trade Commission (). “The FTC is not calling to deactivate your phone number”.
  2. Federal Trade Commission (). “How to avoid government imposter scams”.

Situation Room articles are updated as events develop: updates are added to the timeline, and never edited away. Follow them by email or RSS.