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Scam alert

Caller Claims to Be the FDIC and Wants Your Cash or Screen? Hang Up

Posted

Florida, Massachusetts and Indiana · bocadailynews.com · Arrives by a phone call, a FaceTime call, or an email

The short answer

A call or email from an "FDIC investigator" who says your account is compromised, then tells you to withdraw cash for a "bank courier," put money in a car, or share your phone screen, is a sign of a scam. In October 2026, police in Delray Beach, Florida, and Boston, and the Morgan County, Indiana, sheriff's office described these contacts. The FDIC's inspector general says the FDIC does not send unsolicited messages asking for sensitive personal information or payment by gift card, wire, or digital currency. Hang up and call your bank on the number on your card.

What is happening

In October 2026, Delray Beach, Florida, police said a caller posing as an FDIC investigator told a woman visiting from Texas her bank accounts were compromised and directed her to withdraw $9,895 in cash for a "bank courier" to collect; the man who came for it said he was an Uber driver hired through the app, Boca Daily News reported. Boston police said the same week that a Roxbury resident, told by an email disguised as coming from the FDIC to withdraw money to protect it, was instructed to place the money in the rear of an Uber courier service vehicle. In Indiana, WISH-TV reported on October 1 that the Morgan County Sheriff's Office was warning of callers on phone and FaceTime who give a fake FDIC investigator number and talk people into sharing their screen.

How to recognize it

  • Someone claiming to be from the FDIC says your account is compromised and tells you to withdraw cash for a "bank courier," a driver, or a waiting car, sometimes to open a "safe account."
  • The caller asks you to share your phone screen on a FaceTime call.
  • They give an investigator number or a special agent's name to sound official.
  • The first contact can be an email made to look like it came from the FDIC, and caller ID can be faked.

What to do instead

  1. Hang up, or close the email without replying. Do not use any number or link it gives you.
  2. Call your bank on the number on your card or statement and ask whether anything is wrong with your account.
  3. Do not share your phone or computer screen with anyone whose identity you have not checked yourself. Morgan County deputies say law enforcement will never ask you to draw money out of an account to help an investigation.
  4. To check a message that claims to be from the FDIC, contact the FDIC Office of Inspector General hotline at 1-800-964-FDIC or fdicoig.gov/oig-hotline.
  5. If you want to tell someone, the rule is: no real agency asks you to withdraw cash to protect it.

If it already happened

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

  1. Handing over cash after a convincing call or email is common. The contact is built to look official.
  2. Call your local police right away, especially if a courier or driver is still due to collect money, and tell your bank what happened.
  3. If you shared your screen, change your banking password from another device and ask your bank to watch the account.
  4. Report it to the FDIC OIG hotline at 1-800-964-FDIC, at ic3.gov, and at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
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Common questions

Does the FDIC call people about compromised bank accounts?
The FDIC's Office of Inspector General warns that unsolicited calls, texts, or emails claiming to be from the FDIC or its inspector general may be fraudulent, and says the FDIC will not send unsolicited correspondence asking for sensitive personal information or demanding payment through gift cards, wire transfers, or digital currency.
Why did an Uber driver show up to collect the cash?
In the Delray Beach case, the man who came for the package told police he had been hired through the app to pick it up, and he was not charged. Morgan County deputies say law enforcement will never send a courier to pick up money. The same handoff is covered in the alert "Told to Give Cash to a Courier? No Real Agency Does That."

Practice this safely

Practice ending a call from a so-called FDIC investigator and calling your bank on the number on your card.

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Caller Claims to Be the FDIC and Wants Your Cash or Screen? Hang Up

A call or email from an "FDIC investigator" who says your account is compromised, then tells you to withdraw cash for a "bank courier," put money in a car, or share your phone screen, is a sign of a scam. In October 2026, police in Delray Beach, Florida, and Boston, and the Morgan County, Indiana, sheriff's office described these contacts. The FDIC's inspector general says the FDIC does not send unsolicited messages asking for sensitive personal information or payment by gift card, wire, or digital currency. Hang up and call your bank on the number on your card.

Read the full alert: https://endscamsproject.com/latest-scams/fdic-investigator-impersonation-scam

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