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Weekly Scam Alert: Fake FBI Agents Scammed This Retired Couple Out of Their Life Savings
By Gabriel O. Rodriguez Cruz MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
Government impersonation scams are more common — and sophisticated — in the age of AI.
Government impersonation scams are among the most damaging forms of fraud targeting Americans today. A Southern California couple’s recent ordeal, which ended with them losing $850,000, shows just how sophisticated these schemes have become.
It started in early 2025 with a call that appeared to come from the U.S. Postal Service — a technique known as caller ID spoofing. On one end were Peter and Diane Hata, a retired minister and teacher from Covina, California. On the other end were people posing as FBI agents with fake documents claiming the couple were suspects in a New York bank manager’s crime ring.
According to reporting from local news channel KTLA, the callers spent months pressuring the couple to keep the “investigation” secret and demanding money. They even threatened the Hatas with jail time if anyone was told about the investigation. To make the scheme more convincing, one caller appeared on video wearing an FBI jacket and badge in what appeared to be a detention room.
The couple was eventually told they could clear their names by converting their savings into cryptocurrency so the FBI could supposedly verify the money wasn’t linked to the crime ring. They emptied their retirement accounts, took out a home equity loan and moved nearly $850,000 into crypto wallets controlled by the scammers.
After the transfers were completed, communication abruptly stopped, prompting the couple to contact the real FBI. That’s when they learned the investigation was fake. Now, with most of their savings gone, the couple faces losing the home they’ve lived in for over 37 years.
The amount of money lost in this scam may be shocking, but this type of scam is increasingly common. The number of government impersonation scams nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission’s 2025 Internet Crime Report. It’s important to remember that the FBI will never contact you by phone demanding money or threaten arrest if you share details. Any caller who does should be treated as a fraudster, regardless of how convincing they sound (or look). Even if you think a call is legitimate, you can always hang up, look up the agency supposedly contacting you and then verify any information directly with the agency.
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Other current scams to watch out for
Lottery long con
A 73-year-old retiree in southwest Washington spent nearly four years believing she had won a $22 million Publishers Clearing House prize. By the time she realized it had been a scam, she had lost more than $600,000 and sold her home trying to cover the fees that a man in Jamaica claimed stood between her and her winnings.
Roshard Andrew Carty first contacted the woman in 2020, posing as a lottery employee. His demands slowly escalated from small fee payments to requests that ended up wiping out her retirement funds entirely. When she tried to pull away, Carty contacted her thousands of times across different numbers and platforms — at one point sending tow trucks and pizza deliveries to her home and contacting her landlord just to reestablish contact.
Carty was sentenced last week in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma to three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud. Federal officials note that legitimate lotteries never require winners to pay upfront fees or taxes to collect a prize. If you’re told you’ve won something for a sweepstakes you didn’t enter, it’s probably a scam.
Scam farm texts
The FBI is warning consumers of a growing wave of phone messaging scams designed to make people panic and surrender access to their bank accounts.
The messages range from vague texts to polished imitations of Apple Pay alerts and security notices. Christopher Delzotto, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas office, said in a statement many originate from organized compounds in Laos and Cambodia, where workers are lured with promises of legitimate jobs and then forced to run fraud operations.
U.S. and international authorities have made hundreds of arrests tied to these networks in recent years. The FBI’s San Diego office recently helped facilitate more than 275 arrests connected to scam compounds in Southeast Asia.
If you fall victim to one of these scams, report it to ic3.gov immediately — the FBI says reporting fraud within the first 24 hours can significantly improve the chances of recovering stolen funds.
Where People Are Protecting Their Privacy Online Right Now
- NordVPN: Hide Your IP and Location Every Time You Surf the Web
- Surfshark VPN: Bundle All Your Devices Into One Low-Price Plan
- Lifelock by Norton: Identity Theft Protection That Defends Against Scams and More Online Theft Attempts
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The most common types of scam you should know
Scammers are constantly upping their game, coming up with new and exciting ways (for them) of fooling their targets. AI-powered scams are one example of this; the technology is being used to reach a larger number of people with increasingly more convincing schemes
But some tricks never run out of style. Most scams fall into a handful of familiar patterns, and many long-standing schemes are still a threat today. They’ve just evolved to better fit today’s digital landscape
- Imposter scams: Scammers often pose as trusted figures such as government agencies, banks, employers and even friends or family to pressure victims into sending money or sharing personal information
- Phishing and spoofing scams: These scams use emails, texts or phone calls that look like they’re from legitimate organizations. The goal is to trick you into clicking a malicious link, downloading malware or handing over sensitive information
- Online shopping scams: Fraudsters can create fake online stores or listings with hard-to-find items at unusually low prices. After you pay for an article, what you end up getting might be counterfeit — or it may never arrive in the first place
- Investment scams: This type of scam often arrives with promises of high returns from crypto, forex or other “exclusive” opportunities. Many involve long-term grooming tactics in which victims are encouraged to invest more over time before losing everything
- Romance scams: Some scammers try to get into your pocket through the heart. They build a relationship with you on dating apps or social media, then convince you to give up money and assets by fabricating emergencies or investment opportunities
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What to do if you’re the target — or victim — of a scam
No one is immune to scams or fraud, but a few consistent habits can reduce their danger and the damage they cause
For starters, be skeptical of unsolicited messages, especially those creating fear or urgency. This might look like an email from your bank threatening to close an account, a text from an online marketplace saying you’ll lose a discount or a call from the IRS claiming they’ll report you to the authorities unless you “act now.”
Scammers love to use this sort of language because it puts you on the spot, which they expect will move you to action
Always verify any requests from an organization by cross-checking with its official phone numbers, email or website. And don’t click any links, download attachments or respond to messages you suspect may be fraudulent. A legitimate organization will not pressure you for instant action or secrecy
Now, if you’ve already sent financial information or money to someone you suspect is a scammer, you’ll need to take a few steps to protect your data and possibly get your money reimbursed. Contact your bank, credit card issuer or payment platform immediately and attempt to stop or reverse the transactions. Make sure to change any relevant passwords and enable multi-factor authentication to safeguard your accounts, too.
Reporting a scam might also help protect others. You can file a report with the Federal Trade Commission and with local authorities at your nearby police department or sheriff’s office. Identity theft victims should also consider temporarily freezing their credit
Lastly, review your financial statements and credit reports regularly, keep your software updated and limit how much personal information you share online. Scammers often rely on publicly available details to make their schemes more convincing
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Gabriel Rodríguez is an editor at Money who specializes in crypto and tech and has over 5 years of experience in the industry. An enthusiastic techie from a young age, Gabriel aims to guide consumers in the right direction when it comes to software and hardware solutions, helping them sort through the swaths of inefficient and gimmicky applications out there. The main tech topics he oversees at Money are antivirus software, identity theft protection services and virtual private networks (VPNs). This passion for emerging technologies led to a growing interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, which he now has intimate knowledge of having written about the topic for the past three years. Gabriel has consulted with leading experts in blockchain, the underlying technology behind crypto, regarding its potential for innovation in various fields, including supply chains, financial services and governance and is responsible for keeping Money’s crypto content timely and up-to-date. Gabriel received his BA in Comparative Literature, his MA in Translation from German to Spanish from the University of Puerto Rico and speaks four languages fluently. His background in these fields has provided him the tools to quickly and efficiently research a wide variety of topics, which has proved essential for reviewing different services and products.\