The FBI is sharing a warning about an ongoing fraud scheme in which scammers impersonate members of the bureau to con you out of money.
The scammers are contacting people pretending to work with the bureau’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, also known as IC3.
They will reach out by email or phone, claiming to have recovered money you lost to a scam.
But it’s fake. They are trying to con people who’ve already fallen victim to scams.
The FBI said it’s received more than 100 complaints about the scheme.
In some cases, scammers also reached out through fake social media accounts and through financial forums, pretending to be fellow fraud victims.
They will advise you to reach out to the IC3 to report the scam, but will give you fake contact info, putting you in touch not with the FBI but with a scammer.
Remember, the IC3 will never contact you by phone, email, social media, or public forums.
If you have filed a report, you might be contacted by FBI employees for further information, but it will likely be someone from a local FBI branch.
Also, the IC3 will never ask for payments to recover lost funds.
Finally, as a general rule of thumb, do not send money or share sensitive information with anyone you have only met online or over the phone.