Illustration by iStock; *Security Management*

Isn't It Ironic: Scammers Fake FBI Website For Reporting Cyber Crimes

By Sara Mosqueda

23 September 2025

The FBI published a warning on 19 September alerting the public that its website for reporting cybercrimes has been spoofed. The fake Internet Crime Complain Center (IC3) websites try to steal visitors’ data, which could later be used for identity theft or other financial fraud.

According to the Bureau’s public service announcement, the faked websites appear legitimate, with characteristics and appearances that closely match legitimate website domains.

Threat actors use these fraudulent sites to collect “personally identifiable information entered by a user into the site, including name, home address, phone number, email address, and banking information,” the announcement said.

The FBI also issued a warning on the legitimate IC3 website, cautioning that the center “does not work with any non-law enforcement entity, such as law firms or crypto services, to recuperate lost funds or investigate cases. The IC3 will never directly contact you for information or money.”

The FBI’s warning included tips and precautions for individuals looking to protect themselves from this type of scam:

When you need to report a cyber crime and need to use the IC3's official website, type ic3.gov directly into the address bar located at the top of your Internet browser instead of using a search engine.
If you do use a search engine, avoid any sponsored results. These results are often paid imitators looking to siphon traffic away from the legitimate IC3 website.
Make sure that the URL of the IC3 website ends in “.gov” and is correctly entered as ic3.gov.
Don’t click on any link with a URL different from the legitimate IC3 site.
Never click on links that might include suspicious characteristics or graphics, such as unprofessional or low-quality graphics.
Never share sensitive information if you are less than 100 percent confident of the website's legitimacy.
IC3 will never ask for you to pay to recover lost funds, and it will not refer you to a company requesting payment for recovering funds.
IC3 does not have any social media accounts.

If you come across a spoofed IC3 website, report it to the legitimate FBI IC3 website only at www.ic3.gov, or to your local FBI field office. If you can, provide the FBI with information about the person or organization that contacted you, as well as how they communicated (websites, email addresses, or telephone numbers). If you did pay one of these sites, be sure to include information about the transaction: date, type of payment, the amount, any account numbers involved, the name and address of the institution that received your funds, and cryptocurrency addresses. Lastly, don’t forget to include describing the overall interaction, such as how you were connected to the fake website, what supposed services they charged you money for, how you were instructed to provide the payment, and any other information you provided.

Interested in learning more about the growing trend of impersonation fraud schemes? Check out these recent articles from Security Management: