Impersonation & Tech-Support Scams Surge; Fake Recovery Offers Return

Fake badges, real losses: impersonation calls keep climbing

The FBI says almost 61,000 complaints regarding such impersonation scams were reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) between January 2025 and July 2026, the FBI stated. The losses from these complaints totaled more than $1.6 billion, the FBI stated in a Sept. 17 public service announcement. One common script is the fake jury-duty call: the fraudster accusing the target of failing to report for jury duty and threatening them with fines. Between January 2025 and July 2026, IC3 received 6,833 complaints about jury duty scams, resulting in losses of nearly $36 million.

This is playing out locally right now — on October 8, a sheriff's office in Ohio reported warning residents about a missed-jury-duty scam in the area... The scammer then orders the victim to deposit their money in a different banking system to avoid going to jail. Separately, reporting this month describes a more unsettling twist: victims in New Jersey have reported scammers impersonating FBI, DEA and Secret Service agents to steal their money, disguising their calls with agency phone numbers and introducing themselves using real agents' names.

A reliable tell across these calls: the FBI says these callers routinely tell victims not to talk to family, friends, their bank or the police. No real investigation needs your silence. When a caller asks for secrecy, treat that request as the confirmation that it is a scam. This matches what AVASC's own case data has logged since May — government-impersonation callers demanding immediate payment via gift card, wire, or crypto under threat of arrest.

A $22,500 lesson: tech-support scams still among the costliest

A new case reported today puts a human face on a scam category the FBI flags as one of the priciest: a North Carolina woman says she is 'very depressed' after losing $22,500 to a fake Microsoft tech-support scam, after scammers got into her computer after a pop-up convinced her there was an issue with it. Nationally, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received 47,794 complaints involving tech and customer support scams in 2025, with reported losses of about $2.13 billion, according to its latest annual report.

The FTC's core guidance remains the most reliable defense: consumers shouldn't call a phone number included in an unexpected pop-up or message claiming there is a problem with their computer. Instead, close the warning and contact the company directly using a phone number or website you know is legitimate.

If you've already been scammed, watch for the 'we can get your money back' call

A pattern AVASC has tracked since June — fake recovery services re-targeting people who already lost money — matches an active, federally confirmed scheme. The FBI's IC3 warns that criminals are posing as FBI personnel to re-target people who have already lost money to fraud. They slide into Facebook Messenger and Telegram, steer victims toward fake IC3 complaint portals, and now stage AI deepfake videos of senior FBI officials to sell the lie.

The rule is simple and absolute: the FBI's IC3 has no social media accounts, never reaches out to people through phone apps, chat, or DMs, and never charges a fee to recover funds. If you want to check a real case or file a report, the only genuine IC3 lives at ic3.gov. Type that address yourself, never reach it through a link, a search ad, or a stranger's message.