Spoofed Caller ID Scams

About this tactic

Modern voice-over-IP services let callers display essentially any number or name they want on the recipient's caller-ID screen. This is why "IRS", "Social Security", "FBI", "USPS" and even local sheriff's department names regularly appear on incoming scam calls. The FCC's STIR/SHAKEN framework has made some progress against spoofing on major U.S. carriers, but spoofed numbers still account for a large share of fraudulent traffic, especially from overseas operators routed through small voice carriers. Treat the caller-ID line as decoration: it tells you what the caller wants you to think the call is, not what it actually is.

Why this tactic works on otherwise careful people

The reason this tactic continues to extract money from college-educated, financially literate adults is not that the targets are gullible — it's that the tactic is engineered to bypass the parts of the brain that handle scepticism. Stress hormones rise within seconds of a credible threat, and once they do, the analytical capacity that would normally catch the scam is offline for several minutes. Scammers know this and structure their calls to maintain that pressure for as long as possible: rapid-fire questions, no time to think, transfers to "supervisors" that recreate the urgency every couple of minutes. The single most reliable defense is to break the rhythm — say "I'll call you back" and hang up. Almost no real official will object.

What to do during the call

1. Don't engage with the script. Even "wait, who is this again?" gives the scammer something to work with.
2. Don't confirm any personal information — not your address, not your date of birth, not the last four of your SSN.
3. End the call. If you're worried it might be real, hang up and call the agency back at the official number from its website or your most recent paper notice.
4. Add the number to ScamDialer if it isn't already listed.