The FBI has issued a warning that cybercriminals are creating fake versions of its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) website. The agency says this is "possible malicious activity" and that these fake sites could be used to carry out financial scams or steal personal information.
The FBI did not provide specific examples, but it explained that attackers create these spoofed websites by slightly changing the spelling of the legitimate domain or using a different top-level domain, such as ic3.live instead of ic3.gov. The goal is to trick visitors into entering sensitive information like their name, address, or banking details.
Interestingly, some of these fake sites even display a warning from the real IC3 website about scammers impersonating FBI employees. This warning was originally issued in April after the FBI received more than 100 reports of fraudsters using this tactic to trick victims into paying to "recover" lost funds.
To protect yourself from these scams, the FBI recommends:
- Always type the official address, www.ic3.gov, directly into your browser's address bar.
- Avoid clicking on sponsored search results, as scammers often pay for these to redirect traffic to their phishing pages.
- Never share personal or financial information with people you meet online or over the phone.
- Never send money, cryptocurrency, or gift cards to anyone who claims to be an IC3 or FBI employee. The FBI emphasizes that its employees will never contact victims directly to request payment for fund recovery.
This isn't the first time the FBI has warned about such scams. In the past, it has alerted the public about criminals impersonating government and law enforcement officials to extort money or steal personal data.
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