A caller posing as FTC staff says your phone number is being used for overseas fraud and will be shut off
A caller posing as an FTC official says your number was used in overseas scams and will be deactivated. They transfer you to a fake police officer and tell you what to search online to "verify" — but those results are also controlled by scammers.
Also known as: FTC phone deactivation scam, fake FTC phone number threat, FTC verification trap scam, government impersonation phone deactivation, FTC number shut off scam, your phone number used for overseas fraud scam
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 — the FTC does not call consumers to warn them their number will be deactivated
- 2 Do not search for a verification number using terms the caller gives you — those results may lead back to the scam
- 3 Look up the real FTC Consumer Response Center yourself: 1-877-382-4357 or ftc.gov
- 4 Your phone number cannot be 'used for crimes overseas' in a way that puts you at legal risk — no one can prosecute you for calls another person made using a spoofed version of your number
- 5 If a second caller demands payment to 'clear your name,' hang up — no legitimate process works this way
- 6 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ No government agency can deactivate your phone number — only your carrier can do that
- ⚠ The FTC never calls to warn you your number will be shut off; it communicates by mail or through its official website
- ⚠ The caller offers to 'verify' the situation by having you search online — but the number you find or are directed to is also theirs
- ⚠ You are transferred to a fake 'police officer' or 'detective' to file a report over the phone — real law enforcement does not work this way
- ⚠ Caller ID may show a real FTC phone number — spoofing is trivial for scammers
- ⚠ A follow-up call later threatens arrest for the crimes supposedly committed in your name, then demands a 'security deposit' or account transfer
A caller poses as an FTC official and claims your phone number has been used to commit financial fraud in another country — and will be deactivated unless you cooperate. The scam then uses a “verification trap” to make the story seem real: you are told to search online for the police department number to verify the situation, but that number is also controlled by the scammers.
The FTC will never call you to warn that your phone number will be deactivated, will never transfer you to a police officer to take your “report,” and will never ask for money of any kind. Hang up and look up the real FTC number at ftc.gov independently.
Sources
- FTC Consumer Alert — The FTC is not calling to deactivate your phone number (Oct 22, 2026)
- NBC News — Wicked new wrinkle: Scammers impersonate FTC officials (Oct 2026)
- PopSci — Scam alert: The government is not deleting your phone number (Oct 2026)
- WTHR — FTC warns of scam calls threatening to deactivate your phone number (Oct 2026)
- Ground News — FTC warns scammers are impersonating FTC employees with phone calls and texts (Oct 24, 2026)