US law enforcement impersonation scams

Law enforcement agencies in the United States have issued warnings regarding widespread scams involving the impersonation of officers and government officials.

Initially, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office alerted residents to callers claiming to represent the Sheriff’s Office or the U.S. Marshals Service. These scammers use threats of arrest or legal action to pressure victims into transferring funds, purchasing gift cards, or moving money to “safe” accounts.

Expanding on this trend, the FBI reported that nearly 61,000 complaints of this nature were filed between January 2025 and July 2026, with total losses exceeding $1.6 billion. Beyond general law enforcement impersonation, the FBI identified specific tactics including jury duty scams, license renewal fraud, and diplomatic impersonation targeting foreign nationals through threats of extradition or passport cancellation. Jury duty scams alone accounted for nearly $36 million in losses.

More recently, the FBI warned of increasingly sophisticated schemes where criminals pose as agents from the FBI, DEA, and Secret Service. These fraudsters utilize spoofed phone numbers and the names of actual federal employees to increase credibility. In some cases, scammers have employed video calls featuring staged environments designed to look like legitimate federal offices, complete with agency seals and American flags.

Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Roddy of the Newark FBI office noted that even if a person calls an authentic field office to verify an agent's name, it does not guarantee the caller is legitimate, as the name itself is being borrowed from real staff. The FBI emphasizes that legitimate federal law enforcement officers will never demand money over the phone.