FBI Warns of Scammers Spoofing FBI Albany Phone Number in Government Impersonation Scam

The FBI’s Albany Field Office has seen a recent increase in phone calls that spoof FBI Albany’s main phone number as part of a government impersonation/financial institution scam.
 
The scam begins with a call from someone posing as a representative from a banking institution. They inform the victim their information was used to open an account and purchase a firearm, then offer to transfer the victim to an FBI agent who is investigating the fraud. The number that appears for this call is FBI Albany’s main number, and they encourage the victim to fact check it. The scammer then provides a fake name and badge number to further trick the victim into believing they are an FBI agent and, in some instances, tells the victim the conversation should move to an encrypted messaging application.
 
These calls are fraudulent. The FBI will never call or email private citizens to demand payment, personal information, or threaten arrest. Recipients should hang up immediately and report the call.
 
The FBI defines this type of scam as government impersonation fraud, in which criminals impersonate government officials to collect money. Scammers often threaten to extort victims with physical or financial harm to obtain personally identifiable information (PII), such as a Social Security number, credit card or bank information, money, or access to a computer or phone to unknown persons. These scams are a persistent problem, and we encourage the public to remain vigilant.
 
According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), 32,424 people reported being victims of government impersonation scams in 2025, with losses totaling more than $797 million dollars.
 
To protect yourself from falling victim to this scam:

• Be wary of answering phone calls from numbers you do not recognize.
• Do not send money or gift cards to anybody that you do not personally know and trust.
• Never give out your personal information, including banking information, Social Security number, or other personally identifiable information, over the phone or to individuals you do not know.