FBI Warns of IC3 Impersonators Targeting Cybercrime Victims
The FBI is warning people who have already lost money to an online scam that criminals may come back for more by impersonating the agency’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3.
An updated public service announcement dated July 20, 2026, says the ongoing scheme uses fake FBI identities, spoofed websites, social-media accounts and AI-generated videos to promise recovery of money victims already lost. The reported goal is to obtain another payment or collect more personal and financial information.
How the recovery scam works
The warning updates an April 18, 2025, alert. Complainants have reported being contacted by phone, email, social media, messaging apps or online forums. The person reaching out may claim to be an FBI agent, an IC3 employee or another authority figure who has recovered the victim’s funds or can help retrieve them.
In one reported version, a scammer posing as an FBI agent contacted a prior victim through Facebook Messenger and Telegram, then sent a link presented as a way to update an IC3 report. The FBI says such links may collect additional financial information or contain malicious code.
In another reported version, criminals used AI-generated videos depicting senior FBI personnel and directed viewers to a fake IC3 website. The imitation site used a similar structure and content to the official site, asked for a name, phone number, email address, scam type and estimated loss, then supplied a reference number and promised follow-up contact.
The FBI also says scammers may use caller-ID spoofing, synthetic voices and real-time or private video chats to make a fraudulent contact appear genuine. AI-generated content can be difficult to identify reliably, so visual or audio details should not be the only basis for deciding whether a message is authentic.
What IC3 will and will not do
IC3 does not maintain a social-media presence and will not investigate complaints or recover funds through Facebook, Telegram or similar platforms. It also says it will not directly contact individuals through phone calls, email, social media, apps, online chats or public forums.
If additional information is needed, contact may instead come from FBI employees at local field offices or other law-enforcement officers. The FBI says IC3 never charges a fee to recover lost money and will not refer victims to a company that requests payment for recovery.
The FBI’s Cyber Alerts page continues to list the July 20 warning as an alert about an ongoing fraud scheme targeting people who have already reported cybercrime. The IC3 homepage likewise warns that the center will never directly contact people for information or money. IC3 says complaints are used for investigative and intelligence purposes, but it cannot guarantee a response to every filer.
Steps to take if you are contacted
- Stop communicating with anyone claiming to recover your money through IC3, and do not send money or sensitive information.
- Type Ic3 directly into your browser’s address bar. Check that the address is correctly spelled and ends in “.gov.”
- Avoid sponsored search results and links supplied in emails, messages or social-media posts.
- Treat requests for recovery fees, cryptocurrency, gift cards, wire transfers or prepaid cards as fraudulent.
- Save phone numbers, email addresses, usernames, website addresses, messages, screenshots and payment records.
- Report the incident through the legitimate IC3 website. Include the contact information, websites, social-media profiles, payment details and other evidence you saved.
Filing a complaint does not guarantee a response or recovery of funds, but IC3 says reports help law enforcement understand broader threats and may support investigative action.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or local police. For online crime, use the official IC3 reporting system and do not rely on a link or contact supplied by the person who approached you.
Sources
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