Customs and Border Protection scams

1. 1

   The seized-parcel call

   A caller says a package addressed to you was intercepted containing drugs, cash or contraband, and that your identity may have been used. They offer to help clear your name, which requires verifying your identity and often securing your assets.

2. 2

   The agency handoff

   You are transferred to another "agency" — DEA, FBI, the Social Security Administration — each confirming the story. Spoofed caller IDs and fake badge numbers support it. The layering is the persuasion.

3. 3

   Asset protection instructions

   You are told your accounts are compromised and money must be moved to a federal "safe account", converted to crypto at a kiosk, or bought in gift cards and read out. Every version ends with money you cannot get back.

4. 4

   Fake Global Entry and ESTA sites

   Third-party sites charge $200 or more for Global Entry, ESTA or a passport renewal that costs far less, or simply take the money and file nothing. They buy search ads that rank above the government site.

• A caller says a package in your name was seized with drugs or cash inside
• You are transferred between agencies during a single call
• You are told not to discuss the case with family or bank staff
• Anyone asks you to move money to protect it, buy gift cards, or use a crypto ATM
• A badge number is offered as proof of identity
• A Global Entry or ESTA site charges more than the official fee, or is not a .gov address
• You are threatened with immediate arrest unless you cooperate on the call

• Hang up. CBP does not call people about seized parcels, and no federal agency asks you to move money.
• Use only ttp.dhs.gov for Global Entry and travel.state.gov for passports. Never a third-party site.
• Tell someone. The instruction to keep it secret is what makes these calls work.
• Verify any agency contact by calling the agency's published number yourself.
• If money has moved, call your bank immediately and file at ic3.gov — wire recalls are possible in the first hours.

Wires can sometimes be recalled within the first hours through the FBI's Recovery Asset Team, which is triggered by a fast ic3.gov report — file immediately with amounts, account numbers and timestamps rather than waiting. Money converted at a crypto ATM or sent in gift cards is very rarely recovered, though reporting still matters for the case. Expect follow-up contact from "recovery agents", who are the same operation returning. Tell your bank what happened so they can review and flag the account.