How The Scam Works

Scammers primarily contact victims through unsolicited phone calls; however, other methods, including text messages and emails, are also used. Scammers often spoof authentic phone numbers, email addresses, employee names, and credentials of well-known government and law enforcement agencies, including IC3. Scammers will use a variety of approaches while impersonating these officials, such as using urgent and aggressive tones, refusing to speak to or leave messages with anyone other than the targeted victim, keeping victims on the phone for the duration of the scam, or urging victims not to tell family, friends, financial institutions, or law enforcement about the call. The scammers demand payment through a variety of methods, including prepaid cards, couriers, bank wires, cryptocurrency, or cash inserted into cryptocurrency kiosks.