Fake child support enforcement arrears, wage garnishment, or license suspension phishing — fraudulent email impersonating a state child support enforcement agency or Title IV-D division claiming the recipient has past-due child support arrears, a pending license suspension, wage garnishment order, or bank levy — directing them to click a link to pay, provide bank account details, routing number, SSN, or case number to settle the delinquency and avoid legal action

Phishing emails impersonating state child support enforcement agencies, Title IV-D divisions, or the Office of Child Support Services — claiming the recipient has past-due child support arrears, a pending license suspension, wage garnishment order, contempt proceedings, or bank levy — then directing them to pay via external link, provide bank account details, SSN, or case number to settle the delinquency and avoid enforcement. Child support enforcement phishing is psychologically effective because real enforcement actions carry severe consequences. Key facts: (1) State child support agencies collect $33B+ annually in the United States and have genuine enforcement powers including license suspension (driver's, professional, hunting), passport denial, tax refund interception, wage garnishment, and bank levies — scammers leverage public knowledge of these real consequences to create extreme urgency; (2) Title IV-D is a federal program administered by states that authorizes mandatory child support enforcement; most recipients know child support is a legal obligation, making "enforcement action" notifications immediately alarming and credible; (3) Child support enforcement phishing specifically targets both payers and recipients — payers receive fake "arrears warning" notices while recipients receive fake "payment missing" or "disbursement held" notices; both populations have strong emotional responses to child support disruption; (4) License suspension is the most feared enforcement action among self-employed workers and anyone who needs to drive for work — a fake "license suspension in 48 hours unless you pay now" creates a compliance deadline that overrides critical thinking; (5) Legitimate state child support enforcement agencies communicate exclusively by certified physical mail for enforcement actions — no state agency initiates wage garnishment or license suspension via email link. Warning signs: unsolicited email about child support arrears or enforcement action, bank details or SSN requested via email, non-state-government domain.