The FBI has issued a new scam alert to warn Americans that fraudsters have stooped to a new low even for them. They're now impersonating members of the agency’s own Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) to target victims of online financial fraud to revictimize them and steal their financial information all over again.
As reported by Cybernews, over 100 FBI reports were issued between December 2023 and February 2025, with the individuals often being involved with online forums or groups on social networking sites that are focused on helping those who have been victimized by online financial fraud.
The scammers impersonate employees of IC3 and offer the targets assistance in recovering their lost funds, sometimes even saying that they have the funds in their possession. In one instance, a scammer created a fake profile pretending to be a victim and then shared a “trusted IC3 contact” that others could reach out to for help via Telegram. However, that fake IC3 employee scams victims out of their financial information instead of helping them.
In other instances, scammers have used more traditional phishing methods, spoofing authentic phone numbers and names and using fake credentials to trick victims. Though the initial contact method can vary between email, social media, online forums or even a phone call, the victims have said that the scam always involves an offer to help them recover money lost in another unrelated scam.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center was founded in 2000, and handles a variety of internet crimes and complaints including identity theft, phishing, spam, romance scams, payment fraud and more. They can be contacted at www.ic3.gov and doing so is great way to help others avoid falling victims to online scams.
If you need to report an incident of online fraud, the FBI advises gathering as much information as possible, particularly about who contacted you, including the methods of communication, and writing a detailed description of the interaction for IC3. They will also need information about the financial transaction such as the date, type of payment, amount, account numbers involved, and financial institution.
How to stay safe from online scams
The FBI alert shares several tips to avoid getting caught in this particular scam, but first be aware that the IC3 will never directly communicate with individuals over the phone, via email, social media, phone apps or using public forums — if additional information is ever required about a case, an FBI employee from a local field office or a law enforcement office will contact the victim or person directly.
Additionally, the IC3 will never ask for payment in order to recover your lost funds, and they will never refer you to any company that requests payment for recovery. Other tips from the FBI include: never share your sensitive personal information with people you have only met online or only over the phone and never send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency or other assets to people you only know online or over the phone.
Like any other phishing advice, we can also recommend that you never open links, attachments, PDFs, QR codes or downloads from people you don't know or aren't expecting to contact you about this sort of thing. Online scams prey on a sense of either trust or urgency, so be suspicious of anyone trying to get your information or press you with a deadline or time limit.
Some of the best antivirus software programs will include features that can help protect you online like social media monitoring, browser extensions that alert you to suspicious sites and a hardened browser to minimize the risks of cyberattacks. However, only the best identity theft protection services can help you recover funds lost to fraud and your identity after a major security incident.
