A real FTC employee won’t text you their photo ID to “verify” their identity

Scammers lie and pretend to be an FTC employee to trick you into giving them money, access to your financial accounts, or your personal information. In a new twist, they falsely claim they’re an FTC “agent” that can help you recover money you lost in a scam.

Here’s how this new FTC impersonator scam works:

• You get an unexpected message from a contact you don’t know
• They say they’re an FTC employee or “agent” (they’re not) and they can help you “recover losses” (they can’t) from a previous scam
• To “verify” their identity and gain your trust, they send you a photo of an employee ID and a badge (all fake)

Don’t buy the story. It’s really an FTC impersonator trying to get money or financial information from you with a refund and recovery scam.

How can you know if someone really works at the FTC?

Knowing what a real FTC employee won’t do can help you spot an FTC impersonator.

1. A real FTC employee won’t contact you by text message or a messaging app like WhatsApp.
2. A real FTC employee won’t text you a photo of their employee ID to “verify” their identity.
3. A real FTC employee won’t claim to help you recover money you lost in a scam and ask you to pay them, move your money into an account they specify, or give them your financial information.

What to do if you paid a scammer

If you gave a scammer your financial information or paid them — by wiring money through a company (like Western Union or MoneyGram) or your bank, through a money transfer app, or with cryptocurrency — try to cancel or reverse the transaction as soon as you can. See What To Do if You Were Scammed for specific steps to take.

Report a scam to the FTC

If you think someone is impersonating an FTC employee, report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Your report could help stop a scammer. Watch to learn how.

Learn more about how to spot, avoid, and report FTC and other government impersonation scams.