FTC Warns of Impostor Scam Claiming Phone Numbers Were Used for Fraud
The Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer alert on October 22 describing a scam in which callers impersonate FTC officials: they claim the recipient's phone number was registered in another country and used to commit fraud, send photos of fake official badge IDs to 'prove' who they are, and threaten to deactivate the number.
According to the FTC, the callers then 'transfer' the recipient to impostor police officers to take a supposed statement and demand identity documents, before claiming the recipient faces arrest unless a 'security deposit' is paid. The FTC states that real FTC staff will never demand money, never threaten to deactivate anyone's phone number, never demand secrecy, and never send badge photos to verify their identity.
The FTC lists its fraud reporting site, the FTC's ReportFraud site, as the channel for reporting such scams.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的联邦贸易委员会（FTC）总部 Apex Building 黄昏景。Harrison Keely 摄，CC BY 4.0，经维基共享资源。Photo: The Apex Building, headquarters of the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, at dusk. By Harrison Keely, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
