Americans reported a record $15.9 billion in fraud losses in 2025 (a 27% year-over-year increase), with the most common category being impersonation of agencies and companies. Immigrants are particularly targeted – from fake "ICE agents" to "notarios" promising a Green Card. There is no single KRS or a single "warning list" in the USA – instead, there is a system of decentralized but public registries where you can verify any agency, bank, company, doctor, and lawyer. This guide collects them in one place – with rules for recognizing genuine institutions that protect against 90% of fraud.
One rule to remember (confirmed by the IRS, SSA, and FTC): American agencies initiate contact by postal letter – not by phone, not by SMS, not by Facebook message. IRS: "contact is fraudulent if it is unexpected, pressures you, intimidates you, or demands immediate payment." Social Security never asks you to "secure funds" via wire transfer or requests gift cards, cryptocurrencies, or gold. Any such request = fraud, regardless of what the caller ID shows (numbers can be spoofed).
Agencies: only .gov domains
- The .gov domain is reserved exclusively for U.S. authorities (federal, state, and local) – an agency's website without .gov (or .mil for the military) should raise a red flag. The official catalog of all federal agencies with real phone numbers and addresses: usa.gov/agency-index – get the number for the IRS or SSA from there, not from Google.
- Classic scenarios: "IRS" demanding immediate payment under threat of arrest, "SSA" with a "suspended Social Security number," fake "immigration assistance" websites. Report fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov (FTC), and cybercrimes at IC3.gov (FBI).
- Check official agency announcements at the source: the agency's newsroom on its .gov site and the Federal Register (federalregister.gov – the official journal of the U.S.). We describe American alert systems in a separate guide on WEA and EAS alerts.
The "notario" trap – the most important warning for the Polish community
In Poland, a notary is a lawyer with many years of education. In the USA, a notary public is a person who has completed a short course, authorized only to notarize signatures – they are not allowed to provide legal advice. Scammers advertising themselves as "notario publico" prey on this misunderstanding: according to the American Bar Association, immigrants lose "hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars," and a poorly handled immigration case can end in deportation. How to verify legal assistance:
- Immigration lawyer: check the license with the state bar association (e.g., Illinois: ARDC search at iardc.org – with disciplinary history), and you can find a Polish-speaking lawyer in the AILA search (ailalawyer.com – language filter!).
- Non-lawyers can legally assist in immigration matters only as accredited representatives from the official list of the Department of Justice (EOIR roster at justice.gov) – any other "immigration consultant" is operating illegally.
- Official USCIS warnings: uscis.gov/avoid-scams.
Companies, Professionals, and Licenses: Where to Check
| Who to Check | Where (officially) |
|---|---|
| Company (does it even exist) | Secretary of State registry for your state: Illinois – apps.ilsos.gov/businessentitysearch, New York – apps.dos.ny.gov/publicInquiry, New Jersey – njportal.com/DOR/BusinessNameSearch |
| Licensed professional (hairdresser, real estate agent, plumber…) | State licensing boards: Illinois – IDFPR (idfpr.illinois.gov/licenselookup), New Jersey – newjersey.mylicense.com; contractors in NJ must be registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs |
| Doctor | State medical board or collectively docinfo.org – license + disciplinary actions |
| Lawyer | State bar association (IL: iardc.org) |
| Company review | BBB (bbb.org) – remember: this is a private non-profit organization, its rating is not a state license |
Finance: Bank, Advisor, Insurer, Investment
- Bank: FDIC BankFind (banks.data.fdic.gov) – whether the institution really has deposit insurance; credit unions – NCUA search (mapping.ncua.gov).
- Broker/investment advisor: FINRA BrokerCheck (brokercheck.finra.org) and SEC IAPD (adviserinfo.sec.gov) – licenses, employment history, complaints. A seller without a license = end of conversation.
- Insurance agent: state Department of Insurance (directory for all states: content.naic.org/consumer).
- Investment red flags according to SEC (investor.gov): "guaranteed profits," time pressure, payment by gift card/cryptocurrency/wire transfer to a personal account, fake references, "everyone is buying this." SEC separately warns about affinity fraud – scams targeting ethnic and religious communities, where the scammer builds trust "because they are one of us": Polish community groups on Facebook are exactly that environment.
- Complaints against financial institutions: public CFPB complaint database (consumerfinance.gov) – check the company before signing anything and file your own complaint when necessary.
Charitable Organizations
Before donating "to help Poland" or to a local fundraiser: verify 501(c)(3) status in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (apps.irs.gov/app/eos), state registration – with the state regulator (in NJ: Consumer Affairs; in NY: Charities Bureau), and the quality of operations – in independent services Charity Navigator and Candid/GuideStar (data from IRS Form 990). A fundraiser with no trace in these registries is a blind donation.
Consumer Protection – and a Polish Touch
- Illinois Attorney General conducts consumer mediation (purchases, renovations, cars, identity theft) and – a rarity – publishes fraud materials in Polish (illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection). In NY and NJ, similar offices are run by state attorneys and the Division of Consumer Affairs.
- You can reduce telemarketing calls by registering with the National Do Not Call Registry (donotcall.gov).
- Also remember the rules from our guides on cash at the border and – for matters on the Polish side – about verifying sources in Poland.
Verification routine in 5 steps: (1) agency? – contact only with .gov (directory: usa.gov); (2) phone call demanding money "immediately"? – hang up, agencies write letters; (3) company/professional? – state registry + license before signing anything; (4) "financial" or immigration "advisor"? – BrokerCheck / state bar / EOIR roster, no "notarios"; (5) after fraud: ReportFraud.ftc.gov + IC3.gov, and in case of identity theft – IdentityTheft.gov. The lack of separate statistics for the Polish community does not mean that the problem does not affect us – the SEC has a category for "group-targeted fraud" for a reason.
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