When Criminals Pretend to Be the FBI to Steal From Victims Again
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center just released a Public Service Announcement updating an earlier alert about scammers impersonating IC3 personnel. The update was necessary because the scam’s changed; criminals aren’t just cold-calling your grandmother. They’ve moved on to building fake FBI infrastructure complete with AI-generated videos of senior Bureau leadership, spoofed .gov websites, and social media personas designed to intercept victims at the exact moment they try to report the original crime.
The FBI documents two specific variants.
#1: Scammers wait for a victim to threaten reporting them to the FBI, then contact that victim through Facebook Messenger or Telegram posing as an agent. They send a link to “update” the IC3 complaint, which either installs malware or harvests fresh financial data.
#2: Scammers post AI-generated deepfake videos of senior FBI leaders on social media, directing users to a spoofed IC3 website that mimics the real thing but funnels submissions into a single intake form asking for name, phone, email, and estimated financial loss.
Both tactics rely on a mechanic the FBI calls “re-targeting,” more commonly known as recovery or double-dip scams. The playbook exploits two emotions: hope and shame, because victims want their money back and feel embarrassed about the first loss. They become less skeptical when someone in authority offers a path forward. According to AARP’s 2026 Fraud Survey of 1,696 U.S. adults conducted January 22 through 26, 38% of adults have already experienced fraud, representing millions of people unfortunately primed for a second hit.
IC3’s own tracking confirms this is getting worse:
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 14,190 |
| 2024 | 17,367 |
| 2025 | 32,424 |
Government impersonation complaints more than doubled from 2024 to 2025, totaling $797,943,193 in losses that ranked fifth among cyber-enabled fraud types by dollar amount. The count has nearly tripled since 2023 overall.
Meanwhile, AARP’s survey places average fraud worry at 7.1 out of 10, with 87% of adults agreeing that fraud can happen to anyone, though only 9% believe it primarily targets older adults. But 64% also say they are confident in their ability to spot AI-driven scams, even though the FBI’s own PSA notes that AI-generated content has reached a point where identifying fakes is “often difficult.” When confidence outruns capability, it becomes a vulnerability itself.
AARP’s conclusion is that education alone won’t solve this problem. Their survey recommends stronger built-in protections and coordinated action across industry, policymakers, and law enforcement. The FBI’s guidance, while practical, places the defensive burden entirely on individuals: type “ic3.gov” directly into your browser, ignore sponsored search results, and closely look at videos for hands with six fingers or unnatural movements. While these are reasonable suggestions, they aren’t enough against organized criminals deploying deepfakes and cloned government infrastructure.
The system isn’t keeping pace with the threat. The complaint data, worry scores, and the existence of a PSA updating an alert from just over a year ago all prove it. Criminals are going to keep upgrading their toolkit faster than defenses can adapt until there are technical solutions to better identify and stop deepfakes. Looking forward to seeing how the IC3 reports this in their forthcoming 2026 annual report.
Quick Reference: Three Facts About the Real IC3
- The IC3 has no social media presence. Any Facebook, Telegram, or other profile claiming to represent IC3 is fraudulent.
- IC3 will never contact you by phone, email, social media, chat, or public forum. Follow-up comes from FBI field offices or other law enforcement.
- IC3 never asks for payment to recover lost funds and won’t refer you to any company that does.
