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Scam alerts for October 2026: fake officials, fake ads and fake texts
In short: In September and October 2026 the FBI reported about 61,000 complaints and over $1.6 billion lost to scammers pretending to be police or officials, the FTC warned about fake Medicare sites in paid search results, Microsoft shut down platforms behind many toll and parcel texts, and police in ten countries hit West African scam networks. The defences are the same: slow down and check through a route you choose.
The same tricks in new costumes
Every month brings new scam stories, but almost all of them use three levers: they pretend to be someone you trust, they rush you, and they push you to pay in a way that is hard to undo, such as cryptocurrency, gift cards, a courier or a bank transfer. Spot those three and you can beat scams you have never heard of.
Here is what official bodies warned about in the last few weeks.
1. Fake police and officials, now on video
On 17 September the FBI updated its warning about criminals who pretend to be police, court staff or government officials. Between January 2025 and July 2026 it received about 61,000 complaints with losses of more than $1.6 billion.
Common stories include:
- You missed jury duty or a court date and must pay a fine to avoid arrest.
- Your name is linked to a crime and you must pay to "clear" it or help the investigation.
- Your passport, driving licence or professional licence is about to expire or be cancelled.
- For students and people living abroad: a "foreign police officer" or "embassy official" threatens extradition or cancelling your passport.
The FBI says some criminals now appear on video calls using AI to look like real officers, sometimes with fake uniforms and office backgrounds. That makes the old advice even more important: real agencies do not call or message to demand payment, and never ask for gift cards, cryptocurrency or a courier to collect cash.
What to do: hang up, look up the agency's number yourself and call it. If you have already paid, contact your bank straight away and report it to the police.
2. Lookalike adverts during Medicare enrolment
In the United States, Medicare open enrolment runs from 15 October to 7 December. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned that scammers pay to appear at the top of search results with websites that copy official logos and wording. People can end up buying a "plan" that is not real health insurance, or handing over details that are used for medical identity theft.
What to do: type the official address yourself (for Medicare, medicare.gov) rather than clicking an advert, check that the address ends in .gov, and treat results marked Ad or Sponsored with care. The same advice works in any country for tax, visa and benefit sites.
3. The kits behind toll and parcel texts
If you have received a text about an unpaid road toll, a parcel that could not be delivered or a traffic fine, you have probably met a phishing kit. On 14 October Microsoft, with Japan's National Police Agency and other partners, used a US court order to take down three Chinese-language platforms that sold these kits and stolen accounts. One offered more than 2,300 ready-made fake pages copying postal services, tax offices, banks and phone companies in many countries. Microsoft said more than 75,000 organisations had been impersonated.
The takedown helps, but similar services will appear. Read more in our blog on why scam texts look so real.
What to do: never pay a fine or fee from a link in a text. Open the official app or type the website yourself.
4. A crackdown on West African scam networks
On 13 October the US Justice Department announced the results of a joint operation run from London with police from ten countries, including the UK, Nigeria and Ghana. It led to 28 arrests, the rescue of 117 people who had been trafficked to work in scam centres, and more than 3.7 million fake Facebook and Instagram accounts and pages being removed by Meta.
The networks ran fake job offers, romance scams, fake police and soldier profiles, and recovery scams, where people who have already lost money are promised help getting it back in return for an upfront fee.
What to do: be wary of anyone you have only met online who asks for money, and remember that genuine help to recover lost money does not ask for a fee in advance.
Protect the people around you
- Agree a family safe word to use if someone calls in a panic asking for money. Voice-cloning makes fake "family emergency" calls more convincing.
- Talk to older relatives and students living abroad, who are frequent targets of fake-official calls.
- Report scams. Reports help the police spot patterns. In the US use ic3.gov or reportfraud.ftc.gov; in the UK forward scam texts to 7726.
- Keep learning. Our earlier guide to spotting scam alerts and our note on phishing basics cover the warning signs in more detail.
Key takeaways
- Fake officials took over $1.6 billion in 19 months; real agencies never demand payment by phone.
- Type official addresses yourself; scam sites buy adverts at the top of search results.
- Never pay a toll, parcel or fine from a link in a text.
- Recovery scams target people who already lost money; real help never asks for a fee first.
Understand the basics
New to this topic? These short FM TecHub guides explain the ideas behind this story.
Sources and further reading
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