Who's Calling? How to Spot Imposter Fraud

January 31, 2025 • Tiffany Wax
Fraudsters pretend to be from banks, brokerages, and even law enforcement agencies to win your trust and take your money. Here's how to spot their schemes.

If you find yourself wondering whether the phone call you just answered is really your bank reaching out to you, you should probably trust your gut—it may be someone trying to scam you.

The methods and schemes fraudsters use to talk people out of their money are getting more sophisticated. With an imposter scam, someone may pose as a representative from your financial institution, a government office, or law enforcement to get you to comply with their requests. They often exploit authority bias—the human tendency to trust and believe people in positions of authority—to earn your trust or scare you into taking certain actions.

Some even use information purchased from the dark web—including your Social Security number, account numbers, the names of family members, or details about your workplace—to make their requests or demands seem legitimate. If they can play the role convincingly, they may trick you into revealing your most sensitive financial information or even emptying your accounts and handing over your hard-earned savings to them.

That's not to say you should ignore phone calls, texts, or emails that appear to be from your bank or another important organization. Indeed, texts about activity in your financial accounts—that you sign up for—are an effective way to monitor for fraud.

But being able to spot the warning signs of a scam can help you avoid falling prey to one. Here are five common tactics that imposters use to try to separate you from your money.

1. Requests to transfer money

Banks and the other financial companies you do business with will never ask you to transfer money out of your account as a safety measure, or to withdraw your funds in order to purchase cryptocurrency, gold, or other assets. There can be many steps and multiple layers of subterfuge. In one case, scammers gained knowledge of their victims' financial accounts, notified them of a supposed breach of their brokerage account, provided a false phone number to call, posed as employees of the brokerage, and then convinced the targets to move funds into a new bank account and finally to a cryptocurrency exchange, where they were able to steal the money. There were several red flags along the way. One key point, though: If a supposed representative of a brokerage tells you to move funds to a "safe" account, it's definitely a scam.

2. Pressure to act immediately

Fraudsters create a false sense of urgency to trick you into acting quickly. They know that if you have time to stop and think, you're more likely to spot inconsistencies and recognize their scheme. One example is an FBI scam in which someone calls you pretending to be an FBI agent and claims they are investigating a crime tied to your bank account or identity. They may use intimidating language and demand immediate action, such as sharing personal information or moving money out of the account to "protect" your assets.

3. Threats of legal action

Scammers can make it seem like something bad is about to happen, but this is just another way of pushing you to act. If someone claims to be from a government agency or financial institution and says you may forfeit an account, face a lawsuit or judgment, or be subject to a fine or arrest, be very skeptical. What probably comes next is a fraudulent request for money. They will say it's for back taxes, a fine, or some other purpose, but this is not how those types of debts—if they were real—would be collected.

4. Demands for secrecy

After winning your confidence, the scammer often tells you to keep the conversation secret from your loved one and the police, claiming it's necessary to protect your family, the investigation, or your money. This demand for secrecy is a huge red flag. Transparency is essential to genuine investigations or customer service, and a real representative of a bank, brokerage, the FBI, or other law enforcement agency will never ask you to keep quiet.

5. Giving you a script

Financial institutions have safeguards in place to protect against fraud, not just by verifying your identity but also by asking questions about who you send money to and why. Fraudsters know this—and may attempt to coach you about what to say to complete a wire transfer, withdraw a large amount, or take a similar action that sets off warning bells for the financial institution. Similarly, if they offer to stay on a chat while you call your bank, it's certainly a scam. 

You spotted a scam—now what?

If you suspect a scam, the first line of defense is to slow down, hang up the phone, stop texting, and take as much time as you need to think about what you were being asked. Even if you aren't sure it's a scam, delay does no harm.

Reaching out to the financial institution or other organization that the person claimed to represent can often completely debunk what you were told. When you contact your bank, brokerage, or other financial institution, though, it's important to use a verifiable phone number. Never call or click a number in an email notification, because these are too easy to fake. Likewise, never click through to a website from a link in an email or message.

Even if the scammer only contacted you by phone, it's also wise to reset passwords for your online financial logins. Chances are they have more information about you and may try to exploit your accounts in other ways. Also consider setting up fraud alerts with your financial accounts to be notified of any suspicious activity.

One final point: When you suspect something, say something. It's important to report attempted fraudulent activity to your financial institution, which may be able to prevent further problems. And you'll do your community a favor when you report fraud to an agency that tracks these types of crimes, such as the Federal Trade Commission, at ReportFraud.FTC.gov

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