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Scam alert

Caller Says They're From the FTC and Says to Move Money? Hang Up

Updated · First posted

United States · consumer.ftc.gov · Arrives by a phone call or text

The short answer

A caller who says they are from the FTC and threatens to shut off your phone number, demands secrecy, or tells you to move money, withdraw cash for a handoff, or buy Bitcoin is not the FTC. On October 22, 2026, the FTC warned of callers who say a phone in your name is being used for scams in another country, then demand a "security deposit" to avoid arrest. Earlier in October, police in Washington State and New Jersey described FTC callers who sent people to hand over cash or Bitcoin. Hang up and do not send money.

What is happening

On October 22, 2026, the FTC warned nationwide of a new version in which a caller posing as an FTC official says a phone registered under your name and number is being used to commit scams in another country, reads out a fake badge ID, threatens to deactivate your number, and transfers you to a fake police officer, even suggesting what to search online to find the police number, which the scammers also answer, before later saying you are under arrest unless you send money as a security deposit, ABC10 also reported. Earlier in October 2026, police in Edmonds, Washington, said callers posing as Microsoft and then the Federal Trade Commission were telling people to withdraw cash and hand it to a stranger in a busy parking lot, KIRO 7 reported, and police in Washington Township, New Jersey, said a caller posing as an FTC investigator persuaded an 81-year-old woman to convert about $21,000 into Bitcoin and then ship $15,500 in cash hidden in a package of books, which was intercepted at a UPS facility before it reached California, Shore News Network reported. The Federal Trade Commission has repeated its warning through 2026 after callers and texters kept posing as FTC employees, sometimes using a real employee's name or a photo of a badge, to say money needed to be moved to a 'safe' account.

How to recognize it

  • A caller or texter says they work for the FTC and that your money or accounts are at risk.
  • The caller says a phone in your name is being used for scams in another country and threatens to deactivate your phone number.
  • You are shown or sent a photo of a badge, employee ID, or letterhead as proof, or the caller reads out a badge number.
  • You are passed to a "police officer" and told what to search online to find the police number. The scammers answer that number too.
  • You are told to move money into a different, 'safe' account to protect it.
  • You are told to withdraw cash and hand it to a stranger, sometimes with a code word, or to buy Bitcoin or hide cash in a package and ship it.
  • The caller names other agencies too, such as the Treasury, the U.S. Marshals, or Social Security, or says telling your family would involve them in the investigation.
  • You are contacted again after a previous loss by someone offering to recover it for a fee paid up front.

What to do instead

  1. Hang up or stop replying. The FTC does not call or text asking you to move your money.
  2. Do not move money into any account a caller or texter directs you to, no matter what identification they show.
  3. Call the FTC yourself, using a number you look up independently, if you want to check whether a contact was genuine.
  4. Be just as skeptical of anyone who contacts you afterward promising to recover money you already lost, for a fee.
  5. If you want to tell someone, the rule is: the FTC never threatens to shut off your phone or tells you to move money.

If it already happened

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

  1. Contact your bank right away about any transfer you made and ask about recovery options.
  2. If you already handed over or shipped cash, call your local police right away. In the New Jersey case, a package of cash was stopped before it reached the scammers.
  3. Do not pay anyone who contacts you afterward claiming they can recover the loss for an upfront fee—that is a separate, common follow-up scam.
  4. Save the messages, the caller's number, and any images you were sent.
  5. Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
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Common questions

The caller showed me a photo of a real employee badge. Doesn't that prove who they are?
No. A photo can be copied or created from almost anything, and the FTC says a real employee will not text you a photo of their identification to prove who they are. Verifying through a number you look up yourself is more reliable than any image sent to you.
Why would the FTC ever tell someone to move their money?
It would not. The FTC does not call or text people and direct them to transfer money into a different account for safekeeping, so any message asking for that is a scam regardless of how official it looks.
I already lost money to a scam. Is it normal to be contacted about getting it back?
Be cautious either way. A second contact from someone claiming to be the FTC, a law firm, or a consumer group that can recover your loss for an upfront fee is a documented follow-up scam that specifically targets people who have already lost money.

Practice this safely

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Caller Says They're From the FTC and Says to Move Money? Hang Up

A caller who says they are from the FTC and threatens to shut off your phone number, demands secrecy, or tells you to move money, withdraw cash for a handoff, or buy Bitcoin is not the FTC. On October 22, 2026, the FTC warned of callers who say a phone in your name is being used for scams in another country, then demand a "security deposit" to avoid arrest. Earlier in October, police in Washington State and New Jersey described FTC callers who sent people to hand over cash or Bitcoin. Hang up and do not send money.

Read the full alert: https://endscamsproject.com/latest-scams/ftc-agent-move-money-imposter

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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.

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