WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is warning the public about a growing imposter scam involving individuals falsely claiming to represent the agency.

Scammers are contacting members of the public and claiming to represent the CFTC Office of Inspector General. These imposters promise to help financial fraud victims recover lost funds from foreign bank accounts, a ruse to further defraud those already harmed by previous scams.

The CFTC Office of Inspector General will never contact individuals with offers to recover money lost to investment scams.

If someone contacts you claiming to be from the CFTC, write down as much information as possible, but do not share or confirm any personal details, including account numbers, Social Security numbers, or digital wallet private keys. End the call immediately. 

Email scams may also use fraudulent addresses or domains. All legitimate CFTC emails will come from @cftc.gov — no exceptions. Government employees will never contact you from personal or web-based email services such as Yahoo! or Gmail.

If you believe you have been the victim of fraud, you may file a complaint with the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement or report the incident to the Office of Inspector General through the online portal at www.cftc.gov/OIG.

For questions about emails, letters, or calls that appear to come from the CFTC, contact [email protected] to verify the communication. To learn more about imposter scams, visit https://www.cftc.gov/LearnAndProtect.