Fake IRS Calls Hit These Places Hardest

Government impersonation scams generated over 71,000 complaints in our database. Callers pretending to be the IRS, Social Security Administration, or other federal agencies make this the third-largest phone scam category we track, behind debt reduction scams and the catch-all "other" bucket.

The complaint data reveals some surprising patterns when broken down by location. The cities getting hit hardest aren't always the ones you'd expect.

California Leads, But Small Towns Dominate

California tops the state rankings with 7,276 complaints, followed by Florida (4,130) and Texas (3,639). New York rounds out the top four with 2,665 complaints. Georgia (2,084) and North Carolina (1,806) punch above their population weight, landing at fifth and eighth respectively.

The city data tells a more interesting story. Three small towns claim the top spots. El Granada, California leads with 483 complaints. This coastal San Mateo County town has fewer than 6,000 residents. Miamisburg, Ohio follows with 284 complaints from a population of about 20,000. Greer, South Carolina, a Greenville suburb of around 35,000, reported 273 complaints.

These numbers likely reflect concentrated targeting campaigns aimed at specific area codes or ZIP codes. Alternatively, a few prolific reporters in each town may be filing complaints on every scam call they receive. Major cities show more proportional numbers. Chicago logged 108 complaints, Brooklyn 100, New York City 99, and Houston 91. San Diego (84) and San Francisco (78) round out the top ten.

The pattern shows scammers often carpet bomb small communities rather than spreading their efforts across major metropolitan areas. They know that smaller towns have fewer resources to fight back and may be less sophisticated about recognizing government impersonation tactics.

Toll-free numbers dominate fake government calls. The top seven area codes for government impersonation complaints are all toll-free prefixes. 833, 888, 866, 844, 855, 877, and 800 account for over 24,000 complaints combined.

Toll-free numbers average 4.9 complaints per number compared to 2.7 for local numbers. Each toll-free number gets used in nearly twice as many scam campaigns before being burned. This makes sense from a scammer's perspective. Toll-free numbers don't tie them to any specific location, and many people still associate them with legitimate business operations.

Area code 202 stands out with 982 complaints across 284 numbers. Washington, D.C. numbers give fake IRS calls instant credibility. When caller ID shows a 202 number, the claim "this is the IRS" gains believability. Area code 771, a D.C. metro overlay, adds another 703 complaints. Scammers cycle through hundreds of spoofed D.C. numbers to maintain this illusion of authenticity.

Over half of FCC-reported government impersonation calls (51%) use prerecorded robocall messages. The caller claims you owe back taxes, there's a warrant for your arrest, or your Social Security number has been "suspended." Live callers handle 35% of complaints, typically following up when someone presses a button on the robocall.

The most-reported number, (855) 909-0816, has 521 complaints across both agencies and earned a trust score of 0, the lowest possible rating. All ten of the most-reported numbers were still receiving complaints as recently as March 2026. These numbers stay active far longer than typical phone scams because government impersonation generates such high response rates.

The robocall scripts follow predictable patterns. They create urgency by claiming your case will be forwarded to local authorities within 24 hours. They use official-sounding language lifted from real IRS communications. They always end with instructions to call back immediately or press a number to speak with an agent.

Tax season makes everything worse. These scams run year-round but spike hard from February through April. Scammers know that during filing season, people are already anxious about taxes. A call claiming you owe money or that your return was flagged hits differently in March than in August.

The seasonal pattern shows up clearly in complaint volumes. January through April account for 47% of all annual complaints, despite representing only 33% of the year. California, Florida, Texas, and Georgia residents should be especially vigilant during tax season, given their high complaint volumes.

The IRS initiates contact by mail, not phone. Any call claiming to be the IRS and demanding immediate payment is a scam, regardless of what caller ID shows. Real IRS agents don't threaten arrest over the phone or demand payment through gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.

Got a call from someone claiming to be the IRS? Paste the phone number into the search bar at the top of this page. We track over 20,000 phone numbers associated with government impersonation scams and can tell you how many complaints that number has, when it was first reported, and what other scam campaigns it's connected to.