FBI Boston warns of agent impersonation scam
The FBI Boston Division warned the public of an agent impersonation scam on Wednesday in which the scammers call potential victims from what appears to be the division’s phone number.
“The scam starts with a call from someone posing as a representative from a financial institution who informs the victim that their information was used to open an account to purchase illegal firearms,” FBI Boston stated in its warning.
The victims are then transferred to someone claiming to be an FBI agent investigating the situation before the call is disconnected. The victim then receives a call appearing to be from FBI Boston’s main phone number, before a fake agent attempts to move the conversation to an encrypted messaging application.
“The FBI will never call or email private citizens to demand payment, personal information, threaten arrest, or ask you to communicate via an encrypted application,” the division stated. “Recipients should hang up immediately and report the interaction to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.”
The FBI also advises scam victims to notify their banks or other financial institutions and contact local law enforcement to file a report.
Over 1,000 people in New England were victims of government impersonation scams last year, according to the FBI. That includes 125 victims in Maine who reported losing about $685,000 combined.
Across the U.S., more than 32,400 people were victims of government impersonation scams in 2025, losing nearly $800 million combined.
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Drew is the night reporter for the Portland Press Herald. He previously covered South Portland, Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth for the Sentry, Leader and Southern Forecaster. Though he is from Massachusetts,. More by Drew Johnson
