My Broad & Liberty Piece On Government Impersonation Scams

Broad & Liberty ran my piece on government impersonation scams today.

You can read the piece via the below link or the below text:

Paul Davis: Beware of government impersonation scams 

Some years ago, I came home from work and saw my wife arguing with someone on the phone.

She said someone claiming to be from the IRS was on the phone and he was saying that we owed back taxes. He told my wife that she could avoid arrest by paying the back taxes via a credit or debit card.

I took the phone and the man on the line told me that if we didn’t immediate pay the back taxes, he would send the Philadelphia police to our home and arrest us.

I knew from the start that this was a scam, and his comment about sending the Philadelphia police confirmed it. The IRS has their own law enforcement special agents, and they don’t use the Philadelphia police to arrest people who owe back federal taxes.  

The con man on the phone apparently did not know this about the IRS. The con man also didn’t know that at the time I was a Defense Department civilian employee with many years’ experience in the security and crime prevention field. He couldn’t know that I worked with federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies, as well as with the Philadelphia Police Department. I was also a part-time freelance writer at the time, and I covered crime for newspapers and magazines at night and on weekends.

So I was not quite the victim who didn’t know how the government works and would be frightened of a threat from someone claiming to be from the IRS. I told the con man that I knew he was a fraud, and I hung up. I then called the FBI and reported the IRS impersonation call.                

Sadly, government official impersonation calls are all too common, and sadly many people fall for the scam.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently issued a warning to the public of a widespread fraud scheme in which scammers impersonate DEA special agents in an attempt to extort money or steal personal identifiable information.

According to the DEA, DEA personnel will never contact members of the public or medical practitioners to demand money or any other form of payment, will never request personal or sensitive information, and will only notify people of a legitimate investigation or legal action in person or by official letter. In fact, no legitimate federal law enforcement officer will demand cash or gift cards from a member of the public. You should only give money, gift cards, personally identifiable information, including bank account information, to someone you know.

Anyone receiving a call from a person claiming to be with DEA should report the incident to the FBI at www.ic3.gov. 

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), impersonators pretend to be government officials to try to steal your money or personal information. Scammers pose as a government representative, saying you owe a fine or a toll. Or they may claim they’re from your bank, saying there’s something wrong with your account. Or they might pretend to be someone you know - like a grandchild in trouble.

Impersonation scams are, year after year, the top fraud reported to the FTC, and people reported losing nearly $3 billion to impersonators in 2024 alone.

To avoid impersonation scams, the FTC states:

• Don’t give money or personal information to someone who contacts you unexpectedly. If you’re not sure if a call or message is real, reach out to the business, organization, or person using contact information you looked up yourself and know to be true.
• Don’t trust your caller ID. Your caller ID might show the name of a government agency or business, but caller ID can be faked. It could be anyone calling from anywhere in the world.
• Don’t click on links in unexpected emails, texts, or social media messages. Scammers send emails and messages that look like they’re from a government agency or business, but they’re really designed to steal your money and personal information.

 Here are some ways you can tell you're dealing with a scam:

·         Scammers usually pressure you to act quickly. They don't want you to have time to check what they're saying.

·         Scammers tell you to pay in a specific way. They want it to be hard to get your money back, so they'll say to pay by gift card, by wire transfer, or with cryptocurrency.

·         Scammers ask for your personal or financial information — things like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number.

Before you act, type the company or product name into your favorite search engine with terms like “review,” “complaint,” or “scam,” and see what you find. 

Scammers who call you have a few things in common:

·         They'll ask for money or information (like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number)

·         They'll tell you how to pay — often by gift card, cryptocurrency, or wire transfer.

Be aware that caller ID can be faked. So even if it looks like the call comes from a government agency like the Social Security Administration, IRS, or Medicare, or looks like it comes from a local number, it could be a scammer calling from anywhere in the world. 

As soon as a caller threatens you or demands that you pay them with a gift card, credit card or by wiring money, you know. It’s a scam. Even if caller ID tells you otherwise. 

As the FTC notes, that’s not the government calling. 

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com. 

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