The scam du jour sounds like a real brain twister. According to a Federal Trade Commission alert issued Thursday about the newest imposter scam , fraudsters pretending to be from the FTC are calling to “warn” you that your phone number is being used to commit scams in another country and that if you don’t reply to them ASAP you run the risk of your phone getting deactivated.

And it sounds like a pretty intricate hoax . According to the alert, the caller will transfer you to a phony police officer and provide a search query to find the (fake) phone number to file a “report,” and if you call, more scammers pick up. And once you’ve handed over your personal information, they’ll tell you you have to travel to the relevant country to resolve it, unless you fork over a “security deposit.”

This is just one of the latest in the raft of scams we face daily, and frequently fall for .…