The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a critical Public Service Announcement warning that cybercriminals are creating spoofed versions of the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) website in an effort to steal user data. IC3 serves as a primary portal for filing reports on cybercrime and online scams, a program that began in 2000 as the Internet Fraud Complaint Centre and was renamed IC3 in 2003 to reflect its broader mission.
According to the advisory, threat actors register look-alike domains or alter legitimate addresses in subtle ways to entice users into entering personally identifiable information, including names, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and banking details.
The FBI also warned that some scammers may pose as IC3 staff, offering to help recover lost money but demand a fee upfront. The agency stressed that neither the FBI nor IC3 will ever request payment to assist a victim. The warning notes that more than 100 impersonation reports were received between December 2023 and February 2025.
Experts say this is not the first time IC3 impersonations have fueled phishing or malware campaigns; fraudulent emails and fake sites mimicking IC3 have been documented since at least 2018. Cybercriminals continue to exploit the trust surrounding the IC3 brand to harvest data and push scams.
Protective steps from the FBI include typing www.ic3.gov directly into a browser to access the site, and avoiding search results or sponsored links that may lead to fraudulent portals. Users should verify that the URL ends with .gov and watch for low-quality graphics or misspellings. The IC3 website also does not maintain official social media accounts. If you fall victim to an impersonation scam, report it to the real IC3 site and provide as much detail as possible, including any financial transaction information.