Overview

• The IC3’s August 13 advisory adds new red-flag indicators such as forged letterhead, fictitious regulatory agencies and unsolicited claims of government partnerships.
• Fraudsters are now breaching or misusing real law-firm infrastructure and recruiting unwitting support staff to lend authenticity to recovery schemes.
• Targets are pressured to pay upfront fees in cryptocurrency or prepaid gift cards before being funneled into staged WhatsApp group chats and phishing bank sites.
• Scammers exploit precise details of past losses—including amounts, dates and original scam operators—to build trust and coax additional payments.
• Victims are encouraged to document all interactions and report suspicious recovery offers to the IC3 portal or nearest FBI field office for investigation.