New scam alerts: what officials are warning about now

Why scam alerts matter

Scams change their costume often, but the tricks underneath stay the same: create urgency, look official, and steer you towards a payment method that is hard to reverse. Official bodies such as the FBI, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) publish warnings when they see a pattern growing.

Below are four scams that were the subject of official warnings in September 2026. They were issued in the United States, but the same tricks turn up in the UK, the Gulf, South Asia and everywhere else, so the advice travels well.

1. "This is the police": officials who are not officials

On 17 September the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) warned about criminals pretending to be police, court staff or government officials, at home or abroad. It said it had received nearly 61,000 complaints about this from January 2025 to July 2026, with reported losses of more than 1.6 billion US dollars.

The caller may say you are linked to a crime, missed jury duty, or that your passport or professional licence is about to be cancelled. Students and people living abroad may be threatened with deportation. The FBI noted that some criminals now use fake uniforms, fake offices and even AI-powered video calls to look real.

Warning signs:

• Threats of arrest unless you pay now.
• Payment by gift cards, cryptocurrency, cash handed to a courier, or cash fed into a crypto machine.
• Being told to stay on the line and not to tell your family or your bank.
• A web link that looks official but ends in .com instead of a government ending.

What to do: hang up. Real agencies do not demand payment by phone or text. If you are worried, look up the agency's number yourself and call it.

2. Parking meter QR codes that lead to fake sites

A QR code is the square barcode you scan with your phone camera to open a web page. On 3 September the FTC warned that scammers are sticking their own QR codes over the real ones on parking meters. Scanning the fake code opens a site that looks like a parking payment page but steals your card details or personal information.

How to spot it: look for a sticker that seems to sit on top of the original sign. Before you open the link, read the web address your phone shows. Spelling mistakes or odd letters are a giveaway.

Safer habit: pay through the official parking app you download from your app store, or type the council's or operator's web address yourself. If you think you used a fake code, change any password you typed and check your card statement.

3. Copied car dealer websites

On 1 September the FTC warned that criminals are cloning real car dealers' websites, sometimes with AI, copying their logos, photos and listings. They often advertise rare cars, promise easy returns and add fake reviews. Buyers pay in advance and later discover the real dealer has never heard of them, and the car does not exist.

How to spot it:

• The seller will not let you see the car or the showroom in person, or refuses an independent inspection.
• They insist on payment up front by bank transfer only.
• A search for the dealer's name plus words like "scam" or "complaint" turns up warnings.

4. Lookalike sites in paid search adverts

On 28 September the FTC warned that during the US health insurance sign-up season, some scammers and dishonest firms pay to appear at the top of search results. Their adverts lead to sites and phone numbers that look like the official government ones but sell fake plans or harvest personal details.

The same trick is used for passport renewals, tax refunds, visa forms and customer helplines in many countries. The first result you see is often an advert, marked with a small "Sponsored" or "Ad" label.

What to do: type the official address yourself, or use a bookmark. Skip the adverts at the top of search results when dealing with government or money matters. Our URL tool can help you see what a long web address really contains.

How to report a scam

• United States: report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, or to the FBI's IC3 at ic3.gov.
• England, Wales and Northern Ireland: the police service once called Action Fraud is now Report Fraud, at reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101.
• UK scam texts: forward them free to 7726, which lets your mobile network investigate and block the sender.
• Elsewhere: contact your national police cybercrime unit or your country's computer emergency response team (CERT).

Tip: If you have paid, call your bank straight away using the number on the back of your card. Speed matters. Want to learn the basics in more depth? Read phishing basics.