The scammers are impersonating the FBI. Here’s how to find them

Cybercriminals are impersonating employees in the FBI department They have been dedicated to fighting online scams and have tried to take advantage of people who have already lost their money to digital scammers.

The FBI said Friday it received more than 100 complaints from people trying to hand over themselves as its representatives between December 2023 and February 2025. Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The Center handles online fraud reports along with other digital crimes.

While this may seem particularly brave compared to other types of online scams, IC3 spoofing complaints represent only a small portion of what was reported to IC3 each year. Only 2023 (latest year available) IC3 is recorded Over 880,000 online fraud complaints account for $12.5 billion in losses.

In IC3 impersonation scams, the FBI says that cybercriminals first contacted the target and made contact with the target in a variety of ways, including email, phone calls, social media messaging, and online forums. Most of the scammers claim they have recovered the money lost by the target or say they are offering help to recover the lost money.

In fact, the scammers were trying to modify people who had already lost their money due to previous online scams, the FBI says.

In one case, the FBI says that scammers create female personas on social media sites, pervade online groups for victims of financial fraud, and pretend to be the victim themselves. The con artist encourages the actual victim to reach out to the male persona named “Haimekin,” whom he claims to be the “Chief Director” of IC3 through telegrams.

Upon contact, the “Quinn” persona claims to have recovered the lost money, but uses the lie to hand over the financial information to the victim, allowing the fraudster to fall victim again.

How to avoid fraud

Here’s how you can find and avoid FBI and other spoofing scams:

The FBI does not use Telegram. The FBI does not reach out via messaging apps, social media, public forums, emails or texts. Delete and report unsolicited messages of these types.

IC3 doesn’t ask for help. IC3 never asks for payment to collect lost money in fraud. We will also introduce companies that ask for payments to collect your money.

Please keep your personal information private. Never share sensitive data such as bank information, online account logins, or social security numbers with those who contact you online or over the phone.

Ignore money requests. Never send money, cryptocurrency, or gift cards as a form of payment to someone who doesn’t know or deals only online or over the phone.

It helps to prevent future crimes. Report fraud and attempts to fraud IC3. Anyone over the age of 60 who needs to file a complaint can contact the Department of Justice Elders Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311).