Caller poses as your commanding officer, DFAS, or Army CID to demand an immediate wire transfer
Scammers call servicemembers impersonating commanding officers, DFAS, or Army CID. They fabricate a pay deposit error or open warrant and demand immediate wire transfers, gift cards, or cryptocurrency. The median loss is $1,100; investment fraud variants reach $10,000.
Also known as: DFAS scam, Army CID impersonation, commanding officer phone scam, military pay deposit error scam, fake DFAS call
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Hang up immediately — do not send any money
- 2 Verify directly by contacting your unit through official channels (DSN line or base directory) — never call back the number that contacted you
- 3 Check your myPay account at mypay.dfas.mil yourself to confirm your actual pay status
- 4 Report the call to your installation's legal assistance office, Inspector General, or Military One Source (1-800-342-9647)
- 5 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ The caller claims to be your commanding officer, an Army CID agent, or a DFAS representative contacting you by personal cell phone — real military chains of command use official channels for financial matters, not unsolicited calls
- ⚠ You are told a payroll deposit error requires you to wire money back immediately — DFAS never calls servicemembers to demand repayment; real pay discrepancies are resolved through myPay and the chain of command
- ⚠ The caller creates extreme urgency — 'this must be handled today or you will face disciplinary action' — real pay issues do not threaten immediate punishment
- ⚠ You are asked to pay with wire transfer, gift cards, or cryptocurrency — these are scam payment methods; no military agency accepts them
- ⚠ The caller already knows your name, rank, and unit — scammers buy or scrape this from public rosters, social media profiles, and data breaches to seem authentic
Known variants
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Two strangers near a military base claim they lost their wallets and need hotel money. They borrow the victim's phone to 'enter reimbursement info' and instead open the banking app and transfer funds. The scheme takes seconds. Cases documented near Norfolk, VA. (Military Times, Jul 2026)
Last seen: 8/27/2026
Sources
- FTC — Military Consumer Month 2026: 53,466 imposter scam reports, $249M in losses (Jul 2026)
- MilitaryConsumer.gov — Servicemembers: DFAS is not calling you about your pay
- Wisconsin DATCP — What to know about scams targeting military consumers (Jul 2026)
- FTC — Banking Scams Targeting Military Members (FTC Commissioner webinar)
- Military Times — 'Good Samaritans' beware: Scammers ramp up targeting of troops' goodwill (Jul 31, 2026)
- Navy Times / MOAA — Avoid scams that target military members and families (Aug 3, 2026)
- Military.com — Military Communities Lost $684 Million to Fraud Scams in 2025 (Aug 2026)