Fraudsters are Impersonating the IC3 and the FBI

Recently, www.ic3.gov and the FBI have warned individuals about an ongoing fraud scheme targeting individuals for deception. Here’s what going on.

Preface

These days, new fraud schemes are no longer surprising. One of such new fraud schemes are related to www.ic3.gov and the FBI.

According to a public service announcement by the IC3 and the FBI on www.ic3.gov, the FBI and IC3 are receiving complaints about an ongoing fraud scheme where fraudsters impersonate the FBI and IC3. According to IC3, the FBI has received more than a hundred reports of such nature.

What’s Happening?

According to www.ic3.gov, there were numerous complaints:

• Some people receive emails or phone calls.
• Some people receive messages via social media.
• Some people are approached on forums.

Some scammers even impersonate females who are victims of financial fraud. Upon initial contact, fraudsters recommend you to contact the “Chief Director” of IC3 – “Jaime Quin” – via Telegram. Upon contact, fraudsters claim to have recovered the money that was stolen by scammers and ask for further financial information from the victim, and the entire fraud unfolds.

How to Protect Yourself From Scams like www.ic3.gov?

Keep in mind that:

• IC3 never directly contacts people via email, social media messages, phone calls, or forums.
• www.ic3.gov never asks for payment to help victims of fraud.
• You should not share sensitive information with people you don’t know.
• Refuse to send any assets or share information to people you don’t know or barely know.

To further protect yourself, make use of data breach search engines like BreachDirectory.com. Data breach search engines like BreachDirectory will help you ensure that your account – no matter if you search for a username, email, or IP address – isn’t compromised, and if it is compromised, tell you what to do next. If you’re a developer, make use of the BreachDirectory API – the BreachDirectory.com API will provide you access to the data inside of BreachDirectory to support your own use case, whatever it may be.

Don‘t forget to register for data breach notifications on data breach search engines like BreachDirectory.com either – data breach notifications will act as monthly messengers that inform you whether your data is compromised or not.

Summary

These days, there have been numerous reports towards www.ic3.gov and the FBI in regards to people impersonating the staff of IC3 and the FBI. Some receive phone calls, some deal with emails, and some are contacted through social media – always keep in mind that the IC3 will never directly contact you in regards to fraud and it will never ask you to pay them, especially in cryptocurrency.

FAQ

What’s Happening with www.ic3.gov?

There are numerous reports of IC3 staff being impersonated by scammers who pretend to be “victims of fraudsters” but in fact, are fraudsters themselves.

How to Protect Myself From Scams like www.ic3.gov?

To further protect yourself, make use of data breach search engines like BreachDirectory.com and don‘t forget to register for data breach notifications.