A caller claims to be an FCC official and says your phone is under criminal investigation
Scammers impersonate FCC Commissioners or staff, sometimes by name, and claim your phone number is under federal criminal investigation. They demand payment or personal data to resolve it. The FCC never contacts consumers this way.
Also known as: FCC impersonation scam, fake FCC commissioner call, phone number under investigation scam, FCC fraud investigation call, Federal Communications Commission imposter
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Hang up immediately — the FCC does not call consumers about investigations or demand payment by phone
- 2 Do not call back the number the caller provided and do not follow links in any follow-up text — both are part of the scam
- 3 Report the call to the FCC at https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov — choose 'Phone' then 'Unwanted Calls/Texts'
- 4 If you sent money, contact your bank or payment app immediately to attempt a reversal or dispute
- 5 If you shared personal information such as your SSN or banking details, place a free fraud alert with the three credit bureaus at annualcreditreport.com
- 6 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ The FCC never calls to say your phone number is under criminal investigation — no such procedure exists
- ⚠ The caller gives a real FCC Commissioner or employee name — real officials' names are public and easy to look up, making them easy to spoof
- ⚠ They direct you to call a 'law enforcement hotline' to clear your number — the FCC does not operate such hotlines
- ⚠ They demand payment by cash app, cryptocurrency, gift card, or wire transfer — the FCC never collects fines or fees this way
- ⚠ Caller ID may display a genuine FCC or government number — spoofing makes this trivial
- ⚠ They threaten immediate arrest, phone service termination, or permanent loss of your number if you don't pay or share information right now
The Federal Communications Commission confirmed in August 2026 that scammers are impersonating its commissioners and employees — including using real names like Commissioner Anna Gomez — to deceive consumers. The FCC does not call consumers to say their number is under investigation, does not run “law enforcement hotlines,” and never demands payment in gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfer. If you receive such a call, it is a scam.
Sources
- FCC Consumer Alert — Beware of Scammers Impersonating FCC Commissioners & Employees (Aug 10, 2026)
- FCC — How to Spot FCC Imposters
- ABC7 San Francisco — FCC warning consumers of scammers pretending to be FCC employees (Aug 2026)
- ABC7 Chicago — FCC phone scam: scammers pretending to be FCC employees demanding money and personal info (Aug 2026)
- LightReading — Fake FCC officials are targeting consumers as impersonator scams rise (Aug 2026)
- Komando — Scammers are impersonating the FCC (Aug 2026)