FBI Warns of Spoofed Agent Calls Using Real Names

The FBI’s Newark field office is warning about a sophisticated twist on the old federal-agent impersonation scam, one designed to defeat the very steps people take to check whether a caller is genuine.

Scammers are spoofing the phone numbers of FBI, DEA and Secret Service field offices and introducing themselves with the names of real federal agents. When victims call the office back, staff may confirm that the named agent actually works there. That true fact can make the original call seem legitimate, even though it proves nothing about who made it.

In one case, a fraudster staged a video call to look like an FBI office, complete with a desk, the agency seal and a man in a suit. The warning, issued Sept. 29, followed reports from victims in New Jersey.

“The new twist involves tactics that make it extremely difficult for potential victims to verify whether they are being targeted,” FBI Newark public affairs specialist Amy Thoreson said.

The bureau’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received nearly 61,000 complaints about law enforcement and government impersonation scams between January 2025 and July 2026, with reported losses above $1.6 billion, according to Cybernews.

The FBI says real federal agents will never ask for money. Anyone who gets such a call should hang up, look up the agency’s official number independently, and explain that they suspect a scam when asking whether a real agent is trying to reach them. Suspicious contacts can be reported at tips.fbi.gov or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.