The FBI has issued a public warning that criminals are impersonating its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), using AI-generated videos of FBI officials and copycat websites to reach people who have already lost money to scams. The goal is simple and cruel: rob the same victim a second time by promising to get their money back.
What happened
On 20 July 2026 the FBI published a public service announcement titled “FBI Warns of Scammers Impersonating the IC3”. IC3 is the FBI’s official channel where people in the United States report online fraud, and its real address is ic3.gov.
According to Help Net Security’s summary of the announcement, criminals are sharing AI-generated videos of FBI officials that promote fake IC3 websites built to look like ic3.gov. Others skip the video and contact victims directly over Facebook Messenger, posing as FBI agents.
The announcement also describes a more advanced version of the trick. In the FBI’s words: “Scammers generate videos for real time video chats with alleged company executives, law enforcement, or other authority figures.” So the person on the other end of a live video call may not be a real person at all.
What caught my attention is how the scam feeds on trust in the reporting process itself. Someone who has just been defrauded does the right thing and looks for a way to report it. That is exactly the moment the criminals step in.
Who is affected
The primary targets are fraud victims: people who lost money to an investment scam, a fake online shop or a romance scam, and who are now searching for help. This kind of follow-up fraud is often called a “recovery scam”, because the pitch is always that someone can recover what was lost, for a fee.
IC3 is a US service, and this warning is written for people who would report to it. But the method travels well. The same approach, a convincing video of an official plus a fake website, can be pointed at any country’s police, ministry or regulator, and the language can be anything, Arabic included.
The FBI is clear about one thing that makes these fakes easier to spot: “IC3 does not maintain a social media presence and does not investigate crimes or recover funds through Facebook, Telegram, or similar platforms.”
By the numbers
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Announcement | FBI Warns of Scammers Impersonating the IC3 | IC3 |
| Reference | PSA260720 | IC3 |
| Date issued | 20 July 2026 | IC3 |
| Official site | ic3.gov | IC3 |
| Official IC3 social media accounts | None | IC3 |
| Channels named in the warning | Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Telegram | IC3 and Help Net Security |
| Fees IC3 charges victims | None | IC3 and Help Net Security |
What to do now
These steps come from the FBI announcement and Help Net Security’s summary of it.
- When you need to reach IC3, type the address yourself. The FBI says to “type www.ic3.gov directly into the address bar” rather than clicking a link from a message or a video.
- Check the ending of the web address. The FBI’s advice: “Verify that the URL of the IC3 website ends in [.]gov”.
- Skip sponsored results when you search for any official reporting site. Ads can sit above the real page and point somewhere else.
- Never pay anyone who promises to recover lost money. IC3 never asks for payment, so a request for a fee is itself a warning sign.
- Treat any “agent” who contacts you on Facebook, Messenger or Telegram as fake. The FBI says IC3 does not work through those platforms.
- Look closely at videos and images. The FBI suggests you “Look for subtle imperfections in images and videos, such as distorted hands or feet, unrealistic facial features”.
For readers outside the US, I would apply the same rules to your own country’s police and cybercrime units: find the official site yourself, and assume that anyone asking for money to return your money is not on your side.
Why it matters
Deepfakes used to be discussed as a future problem. This announcement treats them as a routine tool in ordinary fraud, used in both recorded videos and live calls. That shift matters, because many of us still rely on seeing a face as proof that someone is real.
Recovery scams are also especially damaging. The victim is already stressed, often embarrassed, and eager to believe that help has arrived. A polished video of an official saying the right things lowers their guard further.
In my view, the most useful takeaway here is not a technical one. Official bodies publish where they operate. When a message reaches you through a channel they say they never use, you can stop there, no matter how real the face on the screen looks.
Sources
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, public service announcement “FBI Warns of Scammers Impersonating the IC3” (PSA260720), 20 July 2026, https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2026/PSA260720
- Help Net Security, summary of the FBI warning on IC3 impersonation scams, 21 July 2026, https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/07/21/fbi-ic3-impersonation-scam-warning/