Safety & Privacy

Beginner

6 min read 5 stepsMay 8, 2026Verified May 2026

How to Report a Scam Call to the FTC

Step-by-step plain-English guide to reporting a scam phone call to the Federal Trade Commission so the FBI and police can track the criminals.

At a Glance

Write Down What Happened Right After the Call

~43s

As soon as the call ends, find a pen and paper or open the Notes app on your phone. Write down the date and the approximate time the call came in. Write the phone number that showed on your caller ID, even if you suspect it was fake. Write what the caller claimed to be: the IRS, Social Security, Medicare, your bank, a grandchild, or a prize company. Write what they asked for: money, gift cards, a wire transfer, your Social Security number, your Medicare number, your bank account, or your password. Write any names, websites, or call-back numbers they mentioned. These notes will make the report much faster to file.

Quick Tip

Do not worry about getting every word right. A rough summary is enough. The FTC has heard every scam script many times before.

Open the FTC Report Website

~43s

Sit down at a computer, tablet, or phone with internet access. Open a web browser like Chrome, Safari, or Edge. In the address bar at the top of the browser, type reportfraud.ftc.gov and press the Enter key. The page that loads says "Report Fraud" at the top with a large green button. Look at the top of the page to confirm the address starts with https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and that the bar shows a small lock icon. The lock means the connection is private. If your screen does not show a lock or the address looks different, close the browser and start over. A fake site may have appeared.

Warning

Never click on a link to the FTC from an email or a text message. Type the address reportfraud.ftc.gov by hand. Scammers send fake FTC links to trick people.

Click "Report Now" and Pick the Type of Scam

~48s

On the FTC page, click the green "Report Now" button. The next page asks what kind of problem you want to report. The list shows options like "Phone or mobile services," "Scams pretending to be from the government," "Imposter scams," and "Robocalls." Pick the choice that fits best. If you are not sure, pick "Imposter scams" for any call where someone pretended to be from the IRS, Medicare, a bank, or a family member. The form will then ask follow-up questions like the type of imposter, what the caller wanted, and how they asked you to pay. Answer each question to the best of your memory. You can skip questions you do not know.

Quick Tip

If a question asks something you did not catch during the call, click "I do not know" or leave it blank. The FTC would rather have an incomplete report than no report at all.

Fill in the Details About the Call

~46s

The form asks for the date of the call, the phone number that called you, and any details about what was said. Type the date in the format shown, for example 05/07/2026. Enter the phone number with area code, even if you think it was spoofed (fake). In the description box, type a few sentences describing the call in your own words. You do not need fancy language. "A man called and said he was from the Social Security office. He said my number was suspended and I needed to pay $500 in gift cards to fix it. I hung up" is a perfect description. Click "Next" to move forward.

Warning

Do not put your bank account number, debit card number, or Social Security number in the description box, even if the scammer asked for them. The FTC does not need that information to track the scam.

Enter Your Contact Information and Submit

~42s

The form will ask for your name, ZIP code, and an email address or phone number. This information is kept private and is only used if an investigator has follow-up questions. Type your real information. The FTC does not share it with anyone outside law enforcement. After you fill in your details, click the final "Submit Report" button. A confirmation page will appear with a reference number. Print this page or write down the reference number on paper for your records. You will not get a phone call back about your report, but the information goes straight into the FTC database where it is used to build cases against scam operations.

Quick Tip

Also report unwanted sales calls and robocalls at donotcall.gov. The two reports go to different databases and both help shut down scammers.

You Did It!

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Scam phone calls cost Americans more than $10 billion every year, and people over 60 lose more money to phone scams than any other age group. The most common scams pretend to be the IRS, Social Security, Medicare, your bank, a grandchild in trouble, or a sweepstakes telling you that you won a prize. The criminals behind these calls live all over the world. And they share lists of phone numbers, scripts, and tricks. Every time someone falls for a scam, the criminals get richer and bolder.

Reporting a scam call to the Federal Trade Commission, known as the FTC, is one of the most important things you can do to fight back. The FTC is a US government agency that tracks scams, shares the information with the FBI, and uses the reports to shut down criminal phone networks. Your report does not need to be perfect. And you do not need to have lost money for the report to matter. Even a one-minute call that felt suspicious is worth reporting. Every report adds another dot on the map that helps investigators find patterns.

The FTC has two main websites for reports. The first is reportfraud.ftc.gov, which is for any scam, fraud, or bad business practice. The second is donotcall.gov, which is only for unwanted sales calls, including robocalls from criminals. If you are not sure which one to use, pick reportfraud.ftc.gov. The FTC will sort it correctly. Both websites are free, in plain English, and run by the federal government. They never ask for money, your bank account, or your Social Security number to file the report.

Before you start the report, gather a few pieces of information. Write down the date and roughly what time the call came. Write down the phone number that called you, if your phone showed one. Even a fake number gives investigators useful clues. Write down what the caller said: who they claimed to be, what they wanted, and whether they asked for money, gift cards, or personal information. If they told you a website to visit or a person to call back, write that down too. With these notes in front of you, the online form takes about ten minutes to fill out. And you do not need to be a fast typist or a computer expert to do it.

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Official Resources

FTC Consumer Protection CISA — Cybersecurity Tips AARP Fraud Watch Network

Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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