Scam types / Government impersonation
Government impersonation
Fake IRS, CRA, HMRC, SSA, or police calls threatening arrest, deportation, or frozen benefits.
28,123 complaints in this category in our database, sourced from FTC/FCC filings and community reports. Updated daily.
How it works
These calls claim to be from a tax agency, social security, immigration, or police, and threaten arrest, deportation, lawsuits, or suspended benefits unless you pay immediately or 'verify' personal details. The script is engineered to cause panic — often a robotic voice announcing a warrant, then a live 'agent' who takes over.
No government agency demands payment by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency, and none announce warrants by phone. Agencies initiate serious matters by mail, and payment is only ever made through official channels you look up yourself.
If you get one
- Hang up. Real agencies do not threaten arrest by phone.
- Never pay by gift card, wire, or crypto — those demands are the scam's signature.
- If worried, look up the agency's official number yourself and call it.
Most-reported government impersonation numbers
- +1 404 806 481160 reports · 4 days agoSuspicious
- +1 877 556 9255171 reports · 3 days agoSuspicious
- +1 207 204 5129133 reports · 3 days agoSuspicious
- +1 888 269 154154 reports · 4 days agoSuspicious
- +1 321 499 1734608 reports · 10 days agoSuspicious
- +1 970 303 248234 reports · 4 days agoSuspicious
- +1 855 994 1955380 reports · 12 days agoSuspicious
- +1 833 662 5708355 reports · 13 days agoSuspicious
- +1 844 515 1257364 reports · 13 days agoSuspicious
- +1 888 912 190568 reports · 3 days agoSuspicious
- +1 866 581 233028 reports · 6 days agoSuspicious
- +1 240 934 087417 reports · 6 days agoSuspicious
- +1 650 203 000051 reports · 1 day agoSuspicious
- +1 888 310 408480 reports · 14 days agoSuspicious
- +1 833 662 584336 reports · 18 days agoNeutral
- +1 844 212 018218 reports · 13 days agoSuspicious
- +1 602 521 855515 reports · 14 days agoSuspicious
- +1 855 994 182644 reports · 1 month agoNeutral
- +1 866 771 596274 reports · 1 month agoNeutral
- +1 469 425 366915 reports · 1 month agoNeutral
Rankings reflect complaint and report volume; entries are community and public-agency data, not verified facts.
Got a call like this?
Look up the number — then leave a report to warn the next person.