The number on my phone matched the FBI's real office number. How is that possible?

Caller ID shows whatever the caller's system sends, so any number can be made to appear, including a genuine agency line. It is display text rather than a verified fact, which is why the number on the screen cannot confirm who is on the call.

My bank transferred me. Doesn't that mean the second caller was genuine?

Not at all, and this is the step the arrangement depends on. Both callers can be the same operation, and a transfer is easy to stage. The person handing you over is exactly who you cannot rely on to confirm who they are handing you to.

Does the FBI ever phone people directly?

Agents do contact people in the course of real cases, but the Bureau's own statement in this coverage is that it will never call or email a private citizen to demand payment or personal information, threaten arrest, or ask to talk on an encrypted app. Any call doing those things can be ended safely.

Scam alert

Bank Caller Passes You to "the FBI"? Both Are Scammers. Hang Up

Updated Oct 7 · First posted Sep 17

Oklahoma · news9.com · Arrives by a phone call that is transferred to a second caller

The short answer

The FBI does not call private citizens to ask for personal or financial details, does not threaten arrest, and does not ask you to move a conversation onto an encrypted app. That is the Bureau's own wording, repeated in coverage of its Oklahoma City field office notice in September 2026. The call it describes opens with someone claiming to be from your bank, saying your information was used to buy firearms, and then transfers you to a second person who offers a name and badge number and asks for your details. The transfer matters: being handed from one official-sounding person to another makes a call feel already checked, which is why it is built in rather than incidental. The number on your screen can show the field office's own published line, because caller ID can be made to display anything.

What is happening

In mid-September 2026, FBI Oklahoma City warned, in coverage by News9, KTUL, and KTEN, of calls that open with someone posing as a bank representative who says the person's information was used to buy firearms, then transfer them to a fake FBI agent who gives a name and badge number and asks for personal or financial information, sometimes while caller ID shows the field office's real number. The Bureau's statement in that coverage is that it will never call or email private citizens to demand payment or personal information, threaten arrest, or ask them to communicate through an encrypted app. In late September 2026, FBI Newark said people in New Jersey reported callers posing as FBI, DEA, and Secret Service agents who used real agents' names and spoofed phone numbers, so a call to the office could confirm the agent works there, and one fraudster held a virtual meeting with a government seal in the background; that week the Berrien County Sheriff's Office in Michigan warned of callers posing as DEA, FBI, or Treasury agents who claim an arrest warrant and press for cash, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or gold.

How to recognize it

The call is handed from one person to another, so the second caller arrives already seeming vouched for.
The opening claim is alarming but unverifiable on the spot: your identity was used to buy firearms, or for some other crime.
The second caller offers a name and a badge number, details that sound checkable but cannot be checked during the call.
Caller ID shows a real agency number. A displayed number is not evidence of who is calling.
The caller uses a real agent's name. Calling the office can confirm that agent works there, which still says nothing about who called you.
You are asked for personal or financial details, or asked to continue the conversation on an encrypted messaging app.
The pressure is to stay on the line. Ending the call is treated as a problem.

What to do instead

Hang up. Neither a bank nor a federal agency needs you to stay on a call, and ending one costs you nothing.
Call your bank back on the number printed on your card or statement, never a number the caller gave you or the one that appeared on your screen.
Treat a transfer as a reason for more care rather than less. A caller cannot vouch for whoever they connect you to.
Look up the agency's field office yourself if you want to check, and ask whether anyone there has been trying to reach you.
Treat a video meeting the same way. A government seal and a suit prove nothing, and federal law enforcement will never ask you for money.
Say nothing about your accounts, Social Security number, or balances while you are still on the original call.

If it already happened

Responding to one of these is common and understandable. These steps are what people usually take next.

Call your bank on a number from your card or statement and tell them what was shared, so they can watch the account.
Report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov, which is the right route even when the caller was impersonating the FBI.
Consider placing a fraud alert or freeze with the credit bureaus if you gave out your Social Security number.
Write down what you remember: the numbers that appeared, the names and badge number given, and what was asked for.

Open Help Now

Common questions

The number on my phone matched the FBI's real office number. How is that possible?: Caller ID shows whatever the caller's system sends, so any number can be made to appear, including a genuine agency line. It is display text rather than a verified fact, which is why the number on the screen cannot confirm who is on the call.
My bank transferred me. Doesn't that mean the second caller was genuine?: Not at all, and this is the step the arrangement depends on. Both callers can be the same operation, and a transfer is easy to stage. The person handing you over is exactly who you cannot rely on to confirm who they are handing you to.
Does the FBI ever phone people directly?: Agents do contact people in the course of real cases, but the Bureau's own statement in this coverage is that it will never call or email a private citizen to demand payment or personal information, threaten arrest, or ask to talk on an encrypted app. Any call doing those things can be ended safely.

Practice this safely

Practice hanging up on a transferred call and ringing the organization back on a number you already had.

Every story is fictional. There is no timer, no score, and no real message, payment, or account.

Start the four-story practice

Tell someone

Copy a short note you can paste into a text or email. It names the scam, the next step, and this page. Nothing is sent from this site.

Bank Caller Passes You to "the FBI"? Both Are Scammers. Hang Up

The FBI does not call private citizens to ask for personal or financial details, does not threaten arrest, and does not ask you to move a conversation onto an encrypted app. That is the Bureau's own wording, repeated in coverage of its Oklahoma City field office notice in September 2026. The call it describes opens with someone claiming to be from your bank, saying your information was used to buy firearms, and then transfers you to a second person who offers a name and badge number and asks for your details. The transfer matters: being handed from one official-sounding person to another makes a call feel already checked, which is why it is built in rather than incidental. The number on your screen can show the field office's own published line, because caller ID can be made to display anything.

Read the full alert: https://endscamsproject.com/latest-scams/fake-fbi-agent-transfer-scam

Where this comes from

These links open the published sources in a new tab. The destination is shown before you open it.

More recent alerts

This alert provides general educational information drawn from the sources above. It cannot determine whether a specific message you received is genuine, investigate an incident, or promise recovery or reimbursement.

Try a practice story (free, no sign-up)