VIDEO: Man pretends to be Secret Service agent on train

BOSTON - The U.S. government is searching for a man who authorities say pretended to be a Secret Service agent on a Boston commuter train, just to avoid paying his fare, reports CBS Boston.

The man was reportedly so adamant he was an agent, he got into an argument with a conductor about the fare. The incident was captured on video by another passenger on the train and uploaded to the social media sites Reddit and YouTube.

"You're interfering with a federal investigation. What's your badge number?," the alleged impostor reportedly said to the conductor. "You don't mess with Secret Service, I'll tell you that right now. I don't care who you are. You're just a conductor on a train, all right? Don't interrupt my investigation. All right, tough guy? What do you work for, Al-Qaeda?"

While some residents told CBS Boston the man's behavior seemed dumb and harmless, others think the fake agent should be punished.

"He's breaking the rules. He shouldn't act that way and scare people into thinking that he's somebody that he's not," said passenger Barbara Shepherd.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is working the case with the Secret Service. Officials say they are confident the man is not a federal agent.

If caught, he could face prison time. Impersonating a federal agent is a felony, CBS Boston reports.