FTC Imposter Scam Threatens to Unplug Your Phone Number
Trust this genuine FTC warning. And maybe just don’t answer your phone.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued an alert about a new imposter scam targeting consumers. According to the FTC, fraudsters are calling individuals pretending to be from the agency, warning them that their phone number is being used to commit scams abroad. If the recipient does not respond promptly, the caller claims their phone number may be deactivated.
During the call, the scammer transfers the victim to a fake police officer who provides a bogus search query to file a "report." The scammer then requests a "security deposit" or threatens to require a trip to the alleged country of origin to resolve the issue. The FTC warns that these calls are part of a series of increasingly sophisticated scams, and ignoring unexpected calls from unknown sources can help protect personal information.
Written by urgent.news from CNET's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
