Scam Calls and Texts Look Real. Here's How to Check and Report Them

On June 15, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission reported that people lost about $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, and that nearly one in three fraud reports described one. Imposters reach people by text, phone, email, social media and search results, so the bank, toll agency or delivery company named in a message proves nothing. Filters and FCC rules catch only part of it; checking through a channel you already trust is what protects you. Facts below were checked on October 20, 2026.

Key takeaways

Business impersonators accounted for nearly $1 billion in reported losses in 2025, with bank impersonators highest, and government impersonators for about $920 million (FTC, June 2026).
In 2024, phone calls had the highest median reported loss of any contact method ($1,500) and texts the second highest ($1,000), against $497 for all fraud.
Since September 3, 2024, mobile providers must block texts claiming to come from invalid, unallocated or unused numbers; a scam text from a working, unflagged number is outside that rule.
STIR/SHAKEN checks a caller's right to use a number, not the caller's honesty.
The FTC names three steps for scam texts: forward to 7726 (SPAM), report in Apple Messages or Google Messages, and report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

What it means for you

Older adults and their families. The FTC's October 19, 2026 report to Congress puts reported fraud losses for people 60 and over at approximately $3 billion in 2025, up from about $600 million in 2020, with a $2,000 median loss at 80 and over. In that oldest group, phone calls ranked ahead of social media in total reported losses.
People who get toll or delivery texts. Both are top-five FTC text scams; see the toll example and checklist.
People who already clicked or replied. The end of the checklist covers the FBI's steps.

What the FTC numbers show

FTC figures come from reports consumers choose to file, with as much or as little detail as they wish, so they show patterns, not exact totals. The latest full Consumer Sentinel Data Book covers 2024 (released March 2025); for 2025 the FTC reports $15.9 billion in fraud losses on 3 million reports, per its March 25, 2026 testimony.

In 2024, 1,509,002 of 2,600,678 fraud reports named a contact method; the table shows five of the eight methods. Report counts include reports with no loss, while dollar figures come from reports with a loss.

Contact method (2024)	Reports	Total reported loss	Median reported loss
Email	371,651	$502 million	$600
Phone call	284,659	$948 million	$1,500
Text	246,784	$470 million	$1,000
Social media	186,826	$1,858 million	$409
Website or app	186,663	$976 million	$200

Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024, page 12. The median loss for all fraud reports with a loss was $497.

Calls and texts together account for $1,418 million, about 11% of the $12.5 billion total. Only 19% of phone-call reports and 11% of text reports indicated a loss, against 70% for social media. But when a call or text did end in a loss, the median was $1,500 or $1,000, about 3.0 and 2.0 times the $497 overall median, the two highest of all eight methods.

For 2025, the FTC's April 27, 2026 data spotlight ranks contact methods by their share of all fraud reports that indicated a loss: website or app 31%, social media 28%, phone call 11%, email 10% and text 7%. The base differs from the 2024 table, and no reports were collected during the 2025 government shutdown.

Why scam messages look legitimate

Texts borrow a trusted channel

In a December 2023 order, the FCC observed that people open texts quickly because they treat them as an expected, trusted source (FCC 23-107). The order also agreed that number spoofing in SMS and MMS was rare at that time, so a convincing text owed more to its content than to a faked sender.

The FTC's April 14, 2025 spotlight lists the top five text scams of 2024: fake package-delivery problems, phony job offers, fake bank or Amazon fraud alerts, unpaid-toll notices, and "wrong number" openers. Reported losses were $470 million, more than five times the 2020 figure.

A toll text, taken apart

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) warned on April 12, 2024 of a road-toll smishing wave (smishing is phishing by text), with more than 2,000 complaints since early March 2024 from at least three states. Its sample read: "We've noticed an outstanding toll amount of $12.51 on your record," warned of a $50.00 late fee, and linked to a fake toll site. The exact amount and deadline mimic an account record; the FBI says to check the account on the toll service's real website.

Calls borrow a number and a tone

The FBI's September 17, 2026 alert on law-enforcement and government impersonation describes spoofed numbers, unsolicited calls, urgent and aggressive tones, and pressure not to tell family, banks or police. From January 2025 to July 2026 it counts nearly 61,000 complaints and losses above $1.6 billion. The FBI states that authorities never contact the public by phone or text to demand payment or request personal or sensitive information.

What FCC rules block, and don't

Text blocking

Under the FCC's March 16, 2023 order (FCC 23-21), mobile wireless providers must block texts purporting to come from numbers on a reasonable do-not-originate list:

invalid numbers;
valid numbers not allocated to any provider;
allocated but unused numbers, where the blocking provider holds the number and confirms it is unused;
numbers whose subscriber asked that texts appearing to come from them be blocked.

The rule took effect September 3, 2024, per an FCC public notice of March 13, 2024. FCC 23-107 (December 13, 2023) added that providers must block all texts from a number once the FCC's Enforcement Bureau flags it for illegal texts, and that Do Not Call protections cover marketing texts. It declined, for the time being, to require caller ID authentication for texts.

The limits matter. The rule covers SMS and MMS, not iMessage, WhatsApp or RCS. A scam text from a working, unflagged number falls outside it, though the FCC notes providers also block large numbers of texts voluntarily. On January 24, 2025 the 11th Circuit vacated that order's one-to-one consent rule for marketing robocalls and robotexts (Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC), a rule about lawful marketing, not scams.

Calls and recent FCC actions

Voice providers must certify STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication on all IP-based portions of their networks and file robocall mitigation plans. On September 2, 2026, the FCC removed 14 providers from its Robocall Mitigation Database for failing to fix deficient filings, and gave other providers two days to start blocking their traffic.

On September 30, 2026, the FCC adopted a consent-revocation order (FCC 26-67). Per its release, consumers can stop specific categories of robocalls without losing informational calls they want, such as fraud alerts, and financial institutions can more easily alert customers to fraud. So real bank alerts will keep coming; verify the message, whatever its topic.

Phone and carrier spam filters

Rows draw on each company's support pages; T-Mobile users should check T-Mobile's site.

Tool	What the support page says
iPhone: Screen Unknown Callers	Settings, Apps, Phone: choose Never, Ask Reason for Calling, or Silence, which sends calls from unsaved numbers to voicemail. Calls are not screened while roaming; Apple advises saving important numbers, such as a doctor's office, to Contacts.
iPhone: Screen Unknown Senders	In iOS 26, texts from unknown numbers go to an Unknown Senders filter, off by default unless the iOS 18 filter was on. Time Sensitive messages such as verification codes still notify by default, and filtering stops for a sender you have replied to three times or more.
Android: Call Screen	Automatic screening on Pixel phones in the US, Australia, Canada, Ireland and the UK; spam calls are hung up. Not while roaming, and Google says not all spam calls can be detected.
Android: caller ID and spam; Google Messages	Caller ID and spam protection is on by default and sends numbers not in your contacts to Google. Messages spam protection is on by default where supported and checks links by uploading the URL to Google.
AT&T ActiveArmor	The free tier in the service terms includes automatic fraud-risk call blocking and spam-risk call labeling and blocking; Advanced costs $7 a month or comes with select Unlimited plans. The in-app spam text feature was discontinued, and AT&T's support page points to Apple and Google tools for texts.
Verizon Call Filter	Free on standard monthly or prepaid plans with a compatible device (Android 10 or iOS 16.6 and later): spam detection and filter, call log, allowed numbers and spam reporting. Call Filter Plus adds caller ID, spam lookup and a block list for $3.99 a month, per Verizon's FAQ, which does not mention texts.

Frequently asked questions

Will the Do Not Call Registry stop scam calls?

No. The FTC's registry FAQ says it doesn't block calls or stop scammers; it covers lawful sales calls. Registration never expires, and sales calls can take up to 31 days to stop. Political, charitable, debt-collection, purely informational and survey calls are allowed if they carry no sales pitch.

Does a verified caller ID mean a call is safe?

No. The FCC says STIR/SHAKEN helps confirm caller ID is not spoofed, or tells what the signing provider knows about the caller and its right to use the number (FCC 23-107). It says nothing about whether the caller is honest.

Do iMessage and WhatsApp scams fall under the FCC's text-blocking rule?

No. The March 2023 order covers SMS and MMS from North American numbers on wireless networks, and excludes over-the-top apps such as iMessage and WhatsApp, as well as RCS.

Where should I report a scam call or text?

For texts, use the FTC's three steps above; the FCC notes most carriers accept 7726 forwards, so check with yours. Log an unwanted call with no loss at DoNotCall.gov; if you lost money, use ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also file at the FCC Consumer Complaint Center; its consumer guide says the FCC uses complaints for policy and enforcement but does not resolve them individually.

Can a real bank send me a fraud alert by text or call?

Yes. The FCC calls fraud alerts critical, time-sensitive messages many consumers want, and its September 2026 order makes them easier for financial institutions to send. The FTC advises contacting the company on a number or website you already know is real, not one in the message.

A checklist for the next message

Do not click, reply or call a number in the message.
Check the claim yourself, using the toll agency's official site, the number on your card, or a delivery tracker you open directly.
If a caller claims to be police or a government agency and wants payment or personal details, hang up; the FBI says officials never ask by phone or text.
Forward a scam text to 7726 and report it in your messaging app or at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, as the FTC advises. For a toll text, the FBI also asks for an ic3.gov complaint with the sending number and website, then deleting the text.
Turn on one call filter and one text filter, and save numbers you need to Contacts.

If you already clicked or replied

The FBI's toll alert says to secure your personal information and accounts and dispute unfamiliar charges. Its September 2026 alert adds: stop all contact with the scammers, notify your financial institutions, report to local police, file at ic3.gov, and keep financial records and communications. This is general education, not legal or financial advice.