Recorded government impersonation complaints rose from some 17,300 in 2024 to nearly 32,500 in 2025. Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Scammers posing as federal officials drive complaints up and rack up $800 million in losses
The scams, some of which were fueled by AI, can be especially effective because they exploit the built-in authority and urgency people associate with institutions.
The number of complaints filed with the FBI that described cyberscammers impersonating government officials nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025 and resulted in some $800 million in losses last year, FBI data released Monday shows.
Recorded government impersonation complaints rose from some 17,300 in 2024 to nearly 32,500 in 2025, the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Complaint Center report shows. The center, dubbed IC3, documented some $797 million in losses in 2025 from those efforts, up from around $405 million in the year prior.
That type of scam was listed among the top five cyber-enabled fraud crimes by both number of recorded occurrences and amount of money lost. Other major cyber crimes include romance, tech support and investment scams.
The spike comes amid a broader surge in impersonation-based fraud, fueled by artificial intelligence-driven voice and messaging tools that can allow scammers to convincingly pose as government officials at scale.
AI was referenced 260 times in complaints involving government impersonations, the report shows, with $7 million lost in cases with those AI references. AI involvement was documented the most in complaints involving investment scams.
Government impersonation can be especially effective because scammers often exploit the built-in authority people associate with official institutions, prompting victims to act quickly out of fear of penalties, legal trouble or loss of benefits.
“It has never been more important to be diligent with your cybersecurity, social media footprint, and electronic interactions. Cyber threats and cyber-enabled crime will continue to evolve as the world embraces emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence,” the IC3 report says.
The increase coincides with a period of upheaval across much of the government’s workforce, though IC3 did not detail any evidence linking the rise in complaints to mass federal layoffs.
Cyber threats, additionally, continue to become more prevalent. Data breaches and ransomware were among the most prominent cyber threat complaints documented in 2025. Over 60 new ransomware variants — modified versions of ransom malware crafted by hackers to evade detection — were discovered last year, the report says. Government facilities also remain a top target of cyber adversaries.