Scammers continue to impersonate federal agencies in an effort to steal money and personal information from older adults, often relying on fear, urgency and confusion to pressure victims into acting quickly.
• Scammers posing as the IRS, Social Security Administration or other government agencies continue to target older adults with phone calls, emails and text messages.
• The callers often claim the victim owes back taxes, faces arrest or will lose benefits unless payment is made immediately.
• Law enforcement officials say legitimate government agencies DO NOT threaten arrest, demand immediate payment or request payment by gift cards, wire transfers or cryptocurrency.
• Victims are frequently pressured to act quickly and told not to contact family members or attorneys.
• Officials advise residents to hang up, ignore unsolicited messages and independently verify claims using official government contact numbers.
• Suspected scams should be reported to local law enforcement and the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov.