The ScamDialer Safety Guide
Federal and state agencies follow predictable communication patterns. The moment a call breaks one of those patterns, you can be almost certain it's a scam.
The five rules that catch almost every government impersonation call
Real federal and state agencies have very specific procedures for contacting the public. Scammers, by contrast, depend on urgency and emotional pressure. If you remember the five rules below, you'll catch nearly every government impersonation call within the first thirty seconds.
1. The IRS, SSA and Medicare contact you by mail first
The IRS, the Social Security Administration and Medicare are required to contact you in writing — usually multiple times — before they would ever pick up the phone. If your first contact about a tax debt, suspended Social Security number, or Medicare card "expiration" is a phone call, it's a scam. Hang up.
2. No federal agency demands payment in gift cards, prepaid cards or cryptocurrency
Federal agencies cannot legally accept gift cards, Apple cards, Google Play cards, Bitcoin, Western Union transfers or "fee retainers" wired through MoneyGram. The moment a caller asks you to walk to a store and read numbers off the back of a card, you are speaking to a criminal.
3. Real federal calls don't threaten immediate arrest
The IRS does not dispatch local police because of an unpaid balance. The SSA does not "suspend" your Social Security number. ICE does not call homes demanding fines. Court summons are delivered in writing or in person, never by automated voicemail. Threats of immediate arrest are designed to short-circuit your judgement — and they almost always work in the moment.
4. Caller ID is meaningless
Modern voice-over-IP services let scammers display any caller-ID they want. Numbers in our directory regularly appear with caller IDs spoofed to read "IRS", "Social Security", "FBI" or even your local police department. Treat the caller-ID line as a suggestion, not as evidence.
5. Real agents will wait while you hang up and call back
The simplest test in the world: tell the caller you'll call them back at a number you look up yourself, then hang up. Real agents will encourage you to do exactly that. Scammers will plead with you to stay on the line, claim that hanging up will cause an arrest warrant to be issued, or insist that the matter is too sensitive to discuss on a different line. They are telling on themselves.
Specific scams to know
The "suspended Social Security number" call
This is currently the single most-reported government impersonation scam in our directory. The caller — sometimes an automated voice, sometimes a person — claims your Social Security number has been used in a crime in Texas or New Mexico, and that it has been suspended pending verification. The script then asks you to confirm the number to "reactivate" it. Your Social Security number cannot be suspended. Hang up.
The IRS tax-debt call
An aggressive caller claims you owe back taxes and that the local sheriff is en route unless you pay immediately, usually with prepaid cards. The IRS will not behave this way under any circumstances. If you believe you may actually owe taxes, call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040 and you will reach the real agency.
The Medicare card "expiration"
A friendly voice tells seniors their Medicare card has expired and that a new card will be mailed once you "verify" your personal information, including the card number on file. Medicare cards do not expire, and Medicare will never call to ask you to verify the number on the card.
The USPS package call
A voicemail or text claims a package is being held and that a small redelivery fee is due. The link redirects to a fake USPS site that asks for credit card details. The U.S. Postal Service does not call about redelivery fees.
What to do after a scam call
- Hang up. Do not "press 1" to be removed from a list — it confirms your number is live.
- Look up the number on ScamDialer. If you find existing reports, add yours so the next person sees a stronger signal.
- Block the number on your device.
- If you gave out personal information or money, file a report with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and consider freezing your credit with the three credit bureaus.
Helping older relatives
The largest losses in this category are taken from older Americans, often in single calls that escalate over an afternoon. The single most effective intervention is not a lecture — it's a written reminder kept near the phone with three lines on it: "The IRS does not call. The SSA does not call. Hang up and call ScamDialer if you're not sure."