BOSTON (WWLP) – The Boston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a warning about a phone scam in which impostors spoof the bureau’s main phone number and urge victims to switch to an encrypted messaging application.
The FBI stated in a news release sent to 22News on Wednesday that the scheme begins when a fraudster calling themselves a financial institution representative informs a victim that their information was used to buy illegal guns. The call is then transferred to someone claiming to be an FBI special agent investigating the fraud.
After the line disconnects, the victim receives a call that appears to come from FBI Boston’s main phone line, 857-386-2000, where the scammer provides a fake name and badge number and instructs the victim to continue the conversation on an encrypted app…