FTC Scam Calls Threaten to Deactivate Your Phone Number (2026)

“A phone registered in your name is being used for scams in another country. If you don’t cooperate, we will deactivate your number.” That’s how the FTC phone number deactivation scam opens, and the caller says they’re from the Federal Trade Commission. They aren’t. On 22 October 2026 the FTC published a consumer alert about this exact script, which climbs from a fake badge number to a fake police officer and finally a fake arrest.

Here’s each stage, the lines to listen for, and what to do if you’ve already handed over details or money.

The FTC’s warning

The alert is titled “The FTC is not calling to deactivate your phone number.” It describes callers posing as FTC officials who say your number is linked to scams abroad and threaten to cut it off. KING 5 in Seattle also reported the warning. The scam leans on the fear of losing your phone service, the fear of a criminal investigation, and a demand for secrecy so that nobody can talk you out of it.

Four stages, from badge number to “arrest”

From the FTC’s description, the call usually runs like this:

The police transfer is the clever part. Being told to “look the number up yourself” feels like the opposite of a scam. But scammers can plant fake numbers in search results, ads and directory sites, or just give you one that matches the department they named. When someone on a call tells you how to verify them, the verification is part of the script. Hang up and find the agency’s details yourself, from an official .gov site you type into the browser or from a printed document.

The badge number proves nothing either. Nor does a case number, a reference number, or an official-looking PDF “report” sent by text or email. They’re props, there to make you feel the matter is already under way.

Lines that mean hang up now

The wording shifts, but these come up again and again. From an unexpected caller, any one of them is enough to end the call:

• “A phone registered in your name is being used for fraud overseas.”
• “Your number will be deactivated today unless you cooperate.”
• “I’m transferring you to an officer to file a report.”
• “Don’t tell anyone, including your bank. They may be involved.”
• “Send a photo of your ID so we can clear your name.”
• “You can avoid arrest by paying a refundable security deposit.”

Don’t rely on caller ID. Scammers can spoof the number on your screen so it looks like a government office or the local police.

Is the FTC calling me? What real staff never do

According to the FTC’s alert, a real FTC employee will never:

• Ask you to send money, or put you through to someone who does.
• Threaten to disconnect your phone.
• Tell you to keep the conversation secret.
• Text you a photo of their employee ID to prove who they are.

The same holds for nearly every government impersonation scam. Real agencies don’t demand payment by phone, threaten immediate arrest, or ask for gift cards, crypto, wire transfers or cash “deposits”. Callers posing as federal agents follow a very similar script, covered in our guide to FBI impersonation scam calls.

The “your number will be deactivated” threat turns up in other forms as well: “phone number suspended” robocalls pretending to be your carrier or a telecom regulator; fake toll or delivery texts that push you to a payment page (our toll text scams guide has examples); and “your SIM is linked to a crime” calls, reported in several countries and often followed by a transfer to a fake police officer or investigator. Each one threatens something you depend on, uses a fake authority, and wants you to act right away and in secret.

If the call comes

1. Hang up. You don’t owe them politeness, and you have no name to clear.
2. Don’t call any number they give you, or any number they tell you to look up.
3. Never share ID photos, Social Security numbers, bank details or one-time codes with an unexpected caller.
4. Tell someone you trust. Scammers insist on secrecy because a second opinion ends the scam.
5. Check your phone service yourself. If you’re worried there really is a problem with your number, call your carrier on the number from your bill or its official app.
6. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Already gave details or paid? Do this in order

• Money sent: call your bank, card issuer or payment app straight away and ask them to stop or reverse the payment. With wire transfers and crypto, minutes count.
• ID or Social Security number shared: go to IdentityTheft.gov for a recovery plan and consider a credit freeze with the three US credit bureaus.
• Your phone number: ask your carrier for a PIN or port-out protection. Someone holding your ID may try to move your number to a new SIM, as described in our guide to SIM swap fraud.
• Passwords: change them for email and banking, and turn on two-factor authentication with an authenticator app where you can.
• Reports: ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and if you lost money, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov as well.

Buying a used phone? Check the IMEI

Scam rings often run on phones and SIMs bought second-hand or stolen, so if you’re buying used, make sure you’re not getting one of them. Ask the seller for the IMEI (dial *#06#) and run a GSMA blacklist check to confirm it isn’t reported lost or stolen, plus a carrier and SIM-lock check if you’ll use it on your own network. The first all-in-one check is free:

Setting a family rule with older relatives

Government impersonation scams tend to land on people who are polite, law-abiding and anxious about getting into trouble, which is why the fake police transfer works on careful people. Agree a simple rule as a family: nobody pays, sends ID or keeps a call secret until they’ve spoken to a relative first. Then write the carrier’s and the bank’s official numbers on a card and keep it by the phone, so nobody has to search online in a panic.