Government Imposter Scams: Fake SSA, IRS & Medicare Calls

The caller says they are from Social Security, the IRS, or Medicare. There is a problem with your benefits, a tax you owe, or fraud committed in your name, and you must act now or face arrest, fines, or losing your check. The voice is firm and official, and the fear it creates is the whole point.

Real government agencies do not operate this way, but the scam is convincing because it borrows the weight of authority. When someone who claims to be “the government” tells you that you are in trouble, it is natural to want to fix it fast. This guide explains how these scams work, walks through a real example, and gives you a plan to shut them down with confidence.

What it is

A government imposter scam is when a criminal pretends to be a federal agency to frighten you into sending money or sharing personal information like your Social Security or Medicare number. Common disguises include the Social Security Administration, the IRS, Medicare, the FBI, and even the FTC itself.

The threat is the engine. Suspended benefits, an arrest warrant, a frozen account, a tax lien: each one is designed to push you out of calm thinking and into panic, where you will do things you would never normally do, like reading gift card numbers to a stranger.

How it works

1. A call, text, or email claims to be a government agency.
2. They describe a scary problem: suspended benefits, an unpaid tax, a warrant, or fraud in your name.
3. They tell you to fix it immediately, often with gift cards or a wire, by moving money to a “safe” account, or by confirming personal details.
4. They may fake the caller ID to look official, and a second “agent” or “investigator” may take over to add pressure and make it feel like a real case.

As banks have added safeguards, the money trail has gotten stranger. The FTC reports that some scammers now tell people to withdraw cash and feed it into Bitcoin ATMs, or to hand stacks of cash or even gold bars to a courier who comes to the house, all while insisting the matter is a confidential federal investigation.

A real example

Frank, 72, gets a recorded call saying his Social Security number has been “suspended” due to suspicious activity, and to press 1 to speak with an officer. A calm man explains that Frank’s identity was used to rent a car found with drugs inside, and that his bank accounts are now part of the investigation. To protect his savings, the officer says, Frank must move it into a “secure government account” while the case is resolved, and he must not tell the bank teller the real reason because the investigation is sealed.

Every step sounds official. There is a badge number, a case number, even a callback line. Frank withdraws and wires most of his savings before his son notices the unusual activity and recognizes the script. There was no case, no officer, and no secure account.

By the numbers

• People reported losing about $920 million to government impersonators in 2025, up from $789 million the year before (FTC). See more elder fraud statistics.
• Government impersonation complaints nearly doubled, from roughly 17,300 in 2024 to about 32,500 in 2025 (FBI/FTC).
• Imposter scams were the most reported fraud type in 2025, with $3.5 billion in total losses (FTC).

Red flags to watch for

• Threats of arrest, fines, deportation, or losing your benefits.
• A demand for payment by gift card, wire, cryptocurrency, or a cash courier.
• A request for your Social Security or Medicare number to “verify” you.
• Pressure to stay on the phone and keep the matter secret.
• A claim that you must move your money to a “safe” or “government” account.

How to protect yourself

1. Hang up. Do not press buttons, and do not call back the number they gave you.
2. If you are worried it might be real, look up the agency yourself and call its official number, or check your account directly (for example, at SSA.gov or Medicare.gov).
3. Know the bright lines: the government will not call to threaten arrest, will not demand gift cards or crypto, and will never tell you to move your money to keep it safe.
4. Never give your Social Security or Medicare number to someone who contacted you.
5. Make yourself a smaller target. Scammers pull names, numbers, and addresses from data-broker and people-search sites to make calls feel personal. Removing your information from those sites, which a privacy or data-removal service can do for you, reduces how easily they can reach and convince you.
6. Agree on a family pause. Decide together that no one in the family will move money or share an SSN because of a surprise call, without first checking with another family member.

If you’ve already responded

If you already paid or shared information, contact your bank or card company immediately to try to stop or reverse the payment. If you shared your Social Security number, place a free fraud alert or credit freeze with the three credit bureaus and make a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov. Report the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. None of this is your fault; these crews rehearse these scripts for a living.

In the news

• Government official impersonation complaints doubled in 2025 (Nextgov/FCW)
• FTC: record $3.5 billion lost to imposter scams in 2025

Sources

• FTC: How To Avoid a Government Impersonation Scam
• FTC data spotlight: False alarm, real scam
• FBI: Scammers Target Older Adult Victims
• FBI IC3: Elder Fraud