The claim
Calls, texts or emails from people saying they are police officers, federal agents or government officials, who say you are linked to a crime or have missed jury duty and must pay, move money, or hand cash, gold or your bank card to a courier, the pattern the FBI warned about on 17 September 2026, are genuine contacts from the authorities.
How this check was done
Researched on 26 September 2026. This reviews a documented scam pattern using a public warning from the FBI on 17 September 2026, police warnings from British Columbia, Canada, and Pennsylvania reported on 24 and 25 September 2026, and guidance from the UK's Report Fraud service. We did not examine a specific call.
What happens
Someone calls, texts or emails saying they are from the police, a court, a tax office or another government agency. They say you are linked to a crime, have missed jury duty, or that your bank account is at risk. They tell you to keep it secret and act now: pay a fine, move your money, buy gold or gift cards, or hand cash or your bank card to a courier. The caller ID may even show a real police number.
Why it is a scam
The FBI says real authorities will never phone or text to demand payment, and never ask to be paid with prepaid cards, cryptocurrency or a courier. Police in Canada say they do not ask for financial or personal information over the phone. UK police say they will never come to your home to collect money or your bank card.
What to do
Hang up. Then call the police or the agency on a number you look up yourself, from a different phone or after waiting five minutes, because scammers can keep the line open. Never hand money, gold or your card to a courier. If you have paid or shared bank details, call your bank straight away and report it to the police.
The evidence record
The FBI's warning.
The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center said scammers contact people by call, text or email, copy the phone numbers, email addresses and credentials of real agencies, accuse people of crimes, missed jury duty or expired licences, threaten arrest and demand payment by prepaid cards, cryptocurrency, cash paid into cryptocurrency kiosks, bank wires or couriers. From January 2025 to July 2026 it received nearly 61,000 such complaints, with losses of more than $1.6 billion. It said law enforcement and government authorities will never contact the public by phone or text to demand payment or ask for sensitive information, and will never ask for payment by prepaid cards, cryptocurrency or courier. [fbi]
Limits: US figures, counting only complaints made to the FBI.
Sources: fbi
Police in British Columbia, Canada.
Saanich police said they had received multiple reports of calls from people posing as officers, using the police non-emergency number as the caller ID, and asking for financial or personal information. They said police do not ask for financial or personal information over the phone. [saanich]
Limits: Reported by Victoria News; one police force.
Sources: saanich
Pennsylvania State Police.
Pennsylvania State Police warned of a scheme that starts with a pop-up on a computer, followed by callers posing as federal officers who say the victim's identity and bank accounts are linked to a criminal investigation, and who tell them to withdraw money, buy gold and hand it to a courier. About $6.5 million had been stolen nationwide. Police said real law enforcement will never tell people to buy gold or hand cash or precious metals to couriers. [psp]
Limits: Reported by WBNG; the figures are the police's, as reported.
Sources: psp
UK police guidance.
The UK's Report Fraud service describes callers who claim to be police or the bank and ask people to withdraw money or buy expensive items for a courier, or hand over their card and PIN, sometimes keeping the phone line open when the victim tries to call back. It says your bank or the police will never come to your home to collect money or your card, and advises calling back on a number you trust after waiting five minutes or from a different phone. [rf]
Limits: General guidance, not tied to one dated incident.
Sources: rf
What the warnings mean for the claim.
Official sources in three countries describe the same features: unexpected contact from someone claiming to be police or officials, an accusation or emergency, secrecy and pressure, and a demand for payment, withdrawals, gold, cryptocurrency or a courier collection. The authorities say they do not do this. A call with these features cannot show that it comes from the authorities, even if the caller ID shows a real police number. [fbi] [saanich] [psp] [rf]
Limits: A pattern finding. Real police do sometimes phone people, but they do not demand money in these ways; check independently.
Our conclusion
FAKE: an unexpected call or message from someone claiming to be police or government officials who demand payment, a transfer, gold, cryptocurrency or a courier collection matches a documented scam pattern and is not proof of a genuine official contact. This is not a verdict on every call from the authorities.
Confidence and limitations
Strong confidence in the pattern as documented by the FBI and police in three countries. A specific call needs its own check.
We did not examine a specific call. The Canadian and Pennsylvanian details come from news reports of police warnings. Real police do contact people; the finding concerns demands for money, not all contact.
Methods, technical checks and limitations
Source and provenance
The pattern is documented in an FBI public service announcement of 17 September 2026, police warnings reported by Victoria News on 24 September 2026 and WBNG on 25 September 2026, and Report Fraud guidance on courier fraud. No specific call was examined.
Media analysis
No call recording, message or image was examined.
Metadata and technical findings
Not applicable: no file was examined.
Reverse-image and source matching
No reverse image search was run, because no specific message was available.
Detector and tool signals
No AI detector was run.
Independent evidence
An official FBI public service announcement, official UK police guidance and news reports of two police warnings.
Sources and further reading
- Scammers Impersonating Law Enforcement and Government Officials in Fraud Schemes
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) · official law enforcement public service announcement · Accessed 2026-09-26
Source published: 2026-09-17
- Saanich police warn scammers posing as officers in fraud calls
Victoria News · news report of an official police warning · Accessed 2026-09-26
Source published: 2026-09-24
- Pennsylvania State police warn of nationwide scam with impostors posing as federal agents
WBNG · news report of an official police warning · Accessed 2026-09-26
Source published: 2026-09-25
- Courier fraud
Report Fraud (City of London Police) · official police fraud reporting service guidance · Accessed 2026-09-26
Updates and corrections
- 27 September 2026 — First publication following human review.