FBI Warns of IC3 Impersonation Scam
July 20, 2025
It’s getting ugly now. The FBI is now warning about a growing scheme where crooks are pretending to be employees from its own Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). And they’re not just sending shady emails—they’re popping up everywhere: On social media, in forums, even on phone calls. The FBI has been tracking this scam since December of 2023.
Here’s how it goes: Scammers target previous victims of various scams. They claim they’ve “recovered” their stolen funds and want to get it back to them. Of course, there is a catch, and a really tricky part is that the scam varies. You just don’t know how it’s going to come.
One version has a fake “fellow victim” sliding into online support groups for previous victims, playing the sympathy card. Then comes the referral: “Contact Jaime Quin on Telegram, he’s with the IC3!” Spoiler alert—he’s not. He (or she) is a scammer looking to strike again and hijack financial information.
So how does one stay safe from this? The IC3 has tips.
The IC3 will never reach out via email, phone, social media, or apps like Telegram. So, if you get such a message, it’s a scam.
- They don’t charge you to “get your money back.”
- Never give out sensitive information to strangers or random people online. Know who is using your information before giving out even as much as your email address.
- Don’t send money, cryptocurrencies, or gift cards to anyone you haven’t met in person.
The PSA (I-041825-PSA), also warns that the scammers will change aliases and tactics, but the general scam is the same.
Stay skeptical. Stay secure. And if it smells fishy, well, it usually is a phish.
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