Cyber Scams Impersonating U.S. Officials Nearly Double in 2025: FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says scams involving impersonation of U.S. government officials or agencies are rising sharply.
According to a new report from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), complaints about government impersonation increased from 14,200 in 2023 to 17,300 in 2024, then nearly doubled to 32,500 in 2025. Losses linked to government impersonation scams hit roughly $800 million last year, about twice the amount reported in 2024.
The FBI says many of the scams started in call centers overseas. Scammers used phone calls, text messages, and AI-generated voice messages claiming to be government officials to gain access to victims’ personal accounts or force them to hand over money. These messages often falsely warned of problems with government benefits, tax filings, or Social Security numbers.
Victims spanned all age groups, including minors. However, more than one-quarter of victims were people aged 60 and older. The FBI says the elderly are particularly susceptible to government impersonation scams.
“Call centers targeting elders utilize … government impersonation scams because most people respect law enforcement from that generation, the elders,” said FBI Special Agent Ronald Miller at a news conference.
The FBI also highlighted a 2025 operation that successfully dismantled a criminal group impersonating agencies such as the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as an example of countermeasures working against the scams.
Losses from Cybercrime Mount
Overall, losses from cybercrime surpassed $20 billion in 2025, up from $16.4 billion in 2024, according to the report. IC3 received just over one million complaints in 2025, up from 859,000 in 2024.
Investment-related fraud was the largest component of the losses, followed by business email compromises and tech support scams.
And AI is playing an increasing role, with AI scams accounting for more than 22,300 complaints, costing Americans about $893 million in losses. AI scams include defrauding victims with fake social media profiles and videos depicting public figures or loved ones.
