usamericans, if you get a call from someone purporting to be a usps postal inspection service agent notifying you that your name is down as the sender on a "suspicious package" seized in x state (probably not yours) just hang the hell up.
they will try to scare you and say that you will be reported as the sender of something that breaks federal law and you'll be entry/exit restricted and be placed on "red flag lists." they'll namedrop the department of homeland security and ominously warn you that failing to cooperate means you will be federally investigated.
they will even, if you ask for it, give you an undoubtedly fake name of the supposed agent with employee#, and even a case or "document" number.
and they will try to pressure you with some bullshit short turnaround deadline or time limit to complete x or y action within 2 hours or whatever.
it's suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch bullshit.
i got this call today and man if it hadn't literally woken me up with me answering it blindly, i wouldn't have let the call go on as long as it did, but it was at least... illuminating.
government agencies, especially federal agencies, will pretty much never cold call you.
they will mail you anything actually important/requiring action from you.
do not, DO NOT ever give them any information about you over the phone.
(seriously this woman wanted me to tell her what online shopping sites i'd recently entered identifying information into, there's no fucking reason to know that and even that shit gives information about you, your patterns and habits, and places that may be hackable which you'd have an account with.)
always, ALWAYS hang up, whether you demand the agent name/number/etc as i did or not, locate the real, official contact number for the agency supposedly contacting you, and call them directly to verify it was bullshit/possibly report the scam call.
i got passed through 3 different actual humans at the USPIS, all of whom responded with varying degrees of "uhh that sounds like bullshit/a scam" (i did delight in the one lady who lamented she couldn't call me back to find out how the ridiculous saga ended.)
the scam caller i spoke with was a polite, professional sounding woman who kept a calm tone and patiently responded to all my demands, repeatedly "assured" me she that she wouldn't request my personal details over the phone and that the call was being recorded, and she kept the conversation going for as long as she could milk even the tiniest kernel of "is there any realm in which this could be legit" doubt in me.
she was unphased when i told her point-blank it sounded like a scam, and she had the undoubtedly fake employee name/number/etc on hand when i demanded it, even providing a washington dc street address.
she even closed the call by telling me how she respected how wary i was that this might be a fraudulent call.
one last time, you get a weird call like this?
do not panic, do not be overwhelmed with anxiety.
do not be pressured by stress or supposed time limits.
DO NOT GIVE ANY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION TO THE CALLER.
if you've already confirmed your name, that's already more than you want to; stop there. yes girl, give them NOTHING.
INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THROUGH OFFICIAL CHANNELS.
block the number and report it as spam.
do not panic. hang up. directly verify through official channels.
may my morning misadventure let you be wary of any such bullshit headed your way.
