LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Drug Enforcement Administration is shedding light on a new widespread fraud scheme to help people protect their identity and money.
According to the administration, scammers call people and impersonate DEA agents to obtain confidential information such as social security numbers and bank accounts.
The DEA said scammers call victims and say that their name was used to rent a vehicle, which was stopped at the border containing many drugs.
The caller then asks the person to verify their social security number, or they say the person's bank account was compromised. In some cases, callers have also threatened victims with a possible arrest for the fictional drug seizure.
Victims have reported that the scammers are spoofing legitimate DEA phone numbers and sending photos of actual law enforcement photo ID badges to make the fraud scheme more believable.
A doctor from Heber Springs was the most recent caller to report the scam to the DEA tip line.
To identify a scam call situation, the DEA said scammers may:
- Use an aggressive tone and refuse to leave a message with anyone other than the targeted victim
- Threaten arrest and in the case of doctors/pharmacists, threaten to cancel their DEA registration number
- Demand thousands of dollars via wire transfer or in the form of untraceable gift card numbers the victim is told to provide over the phone
- Ask for personal information, like social security number and date of birth
- Reference National Provider Identifier numbers and/or state license numbers when calling a medical practitioner. They also may claim that patients are making accusations against that practitioner
Anyone who has received a scam call claiming to be with the DEA is asked to report the incident to the FBI here. The Federal Trade Commission also takes reports here.
DEA personnel will never contact members of the public or medical practitioners by telephone to demand money or any other form of payment.