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What to do if…
you receive a suspicious call or message claiming to be from an embassy asking for personal details

Produced and maintained by PanicStation.org Published: Last reviewed: Editorial policy USA guide

Short answer

Stop responding and do not share personal details, passport information, codes, money, or document photos. Verify the contact using an official embassy, consulate, or State Department route that you find yourself, not any number or link in the message.

Do not do these things

  • Don’t share your passport number, Social Security number, date of birth, address, or photos or scans of documents.
  • Don’t share one-time passcodes, login codes, or account verification codes.
  • Don’t click links or open attachments from the message.
  • Don’t trust caller ID, because official-looking numbers can be spoofed.
  • Don’t send money by wire transfer, cryptocurrency, gift card, payment app, or cash because someone says it is required right now.
  • Don’t keep talking to prove whether it is real.

What to do now

  1. End the contact. Hang up or stop replying. If it is a robocall, don’t press any numbers.
  2. Save what you already have without engaging. Screenshot texts or emails, save voicemail, and write down the number, date, time, platform, and the exact claim, such as “passport issue,” “immigration hold,” “verify your passport,” or “pay a fee.”
  3. Verify through contact details you find yourself.
    • Use an official U.S. government or embassy website, not the message, caller ID, search ads, or a link sent to you.
    • Contact the embassy or consulate’s official public number or contact page and ask for consular services or American Citizens Services.
    • Say: “I received a call or message claiming to be from you about my passport and asking for personal details. Can you confirm whether this contact was genuine?”
  4. If it claims to be a U.S. embassy or consulate and you cannot verify it through the official local page, use the State Department route if needed.
    • From the U.S. or Canada, call Overseas Citizens Services at 888-407-4747.
    • From outside the U.S. and Canada, call +1 202-501-4444.
    • Ask how to contact the correct embassy or consulate safely, especially if there may be a real passport emergency.
  5. If you shared passwords, codes, or account access, secure the account now.
    • Start with your email account, then banking, phone, travel, and government-related accounts.
    • Change passwords from a trusted device.
    • Turn on multi-factor authentication where available.
    • Sign out of other sessions if the account offers that option.
  6. If you shared bank details or sent money, contact your bank or card issuer now.
    • Ask for the fraud department.
    • Tell them what you sent, when, how, and to whom.
    • Ask whether any payment can be stopped, disputed, recalled, or monitored.
  7. If you shared identity details, reduce identity-theft risk.
    • If you shared your Social Security number, passport scan, driver’s license, or similar identity information, use the FTC identity theft recovery route.
    • Consider a fraud alert or credit freeze if identity information was exposed.
  8. Report it through U.S. reporting routes.
    • Report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission.
    • If it involved email, links, online messaging, payment apps, or other internet-enabled fraud, report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
    • If you are in immediate physical danger in the U.S., call 911. If you are overseas, contact local emergency services where you are or the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

What can wait

  • You don’t need to prove it is a scam by testing the caller or continuing the conversation.
  • You don’t need to send documents while you are still verifying the request.
  • You don’t need to decide right now whether to change travel plans.
  • You don’t need to report it perfectly before securing accounts, cards, and identity information.

Important reassurance

Scams like this are designed to create urgency, fear, and confusion. Ending the contact and verifying through a route you found yourself is a normal and sensible response to any unexpected request for passport or personal details.

Scope note

These are first steps only to reduce immediate risk and buy time. If there is a real passport, travel, immigration, banking, or identity-theft issue, later decisions may need help from the relevant official agency, bank, credit bureau, or qualified specialist.

Important note

This guide is general information, not legal, financial, cybersecurity, travel, or other professional advice. For urgent safety threats, contact emergency services where you are.

Additional Resources

Closely connected guides that may be useful during the same situation or its immediate aftermath.

About this guide

This guide was produced and is maintained by PanicStation.org using its published editorial process. Official and specialist sources are checked where relevant, and AI-assisted tools may be used for drafting, organisation, and consistency checks. The site operator remains responsible for publication, revision, and removal decisions.

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