Overview

• In a Sept. 19 public service announcement, the FBI said fake versions of the Internet Crime Complaint Center site are appearing online.
• Officials caution that spoofed pages may capture names, addresses, contact details and banking information, or push malware.
• The FBI advises typing www.ic3.gov into the browser bar, avoiding sponsored search results, and verifying the domain ends in .gov.
• The agency says IC3 has no social media presence and will never request payment to recover funds or refer pay‑for‑recovery services.
• Earlier alerts noted more than 100 impersonation reports between December 2023 and February 2025, with scammers tweaking domains to lure victims.