Scam alert
Someone Says They're FBI and Can Recover Your Lost Money? Hang Up
Posted
Hawaii and nationwide · ic3.gov · Arrives by a phone call, email, social media message, or chat
The short answer
Hang up if someone who says they are the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center—or an FBI agent handling an IC3 report—contacts you about recovering money or updating a complaint. On July 20, 2026 the FBI's IC3 warned that scammers impersonate IC3 and FBI personnel on social media and messaging apps, use AI deepfake videos, and send people to look-alike complaint sites. The real IC3 does not maintain social media, does not investigate or recover money over Messenger or Telegram, and never asks for payment to get losses back. Stop contact and type www.ic3.gov yourself into the browser address bar.
What is happening
On July 20, 2026 the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center published PSA260720 updating its warning that scammers impersonate IC3 and FBI personnel to deceive people who already lost money or said they would report a scam, using fake Facebook and Telegram profiles that send "update your IC3 report" links, AI-generated deepfake videos promoting spoofed complaint sites, and forms that only collect name, phone, email, scam type, and loss amount before promising a callback. On September 25, 2026 InvestigateTV interviewed FBI Supervisory Special Agent Tim Lynch on the same pattern: scammers monitor social posts about contacting the FBI, use AI voices, and push urgency—any federal-agent demand for money is a scam. In early October 2026 Honolulu Police warned that a coordinated fraud group misused a former CrimeStoppers sergeant's name and photo while posing as an FBI IC3 agent in a cryptocurrency-recovery pitch, and that a separate caller posing as an HPD sergeant with a fake badge and spoofed caller ID demanded Apple Pay, Zelle, or Cash App for "classes" to drop charges; IC3's September 17, 2026 PSA also reported nearly 61,000 law-enforcement or government impersonation complaints and more than $1.6 billion in losses from January 2025 through July 2026.
How to recognize it
- Someone claiming to be IC3 or an FBI agent contacts you first about recovering funds or updating a complaint—especially after you already lost money or said you would report a scam.
- They send a link to "update" an IC3 report via Messenger, Telegram, email, or a look-alike website.
- They use AI voices or deepfake videos, or a real local officer's name or photo, to look official.
- They ask for payment, cryptocurrency, gift cards, or more financial details to recover losses.
- A caller posing as a police sergeant with a spoofed badge demands Apple Pay, Zelle, or Cash App to dismiss charges or pay for "classes."
What to do instead
- Stop contact. Do not click recovery or update-complaint links from messages.
- Type www.ic3.gov yourself into the browser address bar; avoid sponsored search results.
- Hang up on anyone demanding money, cryptocurrency, gift cards, or payment-app transfers.
- Verify any local-police claim through the department's official publicly listed number—not a number the caller gives.
- If you want to tell someone, the rule is: IC3 never contacts you on social media or asks for payment to recover money.
If it already happened
Responding to one of these is common and understandable. These steps are what people usually take next.
- Answering a recovery pitch after an earlier scam is very common. The story is built to feel official.
- File or update a complaint only at www.ic3.gov, typed yourself into the address bar.
- If you paid or shared financial details, contact your bank and local police right away.
- If you are 60 or older and need help filing, call the DOJ Elder Justice Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311). Also report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Common questions
- How can I tell a real IC3 contact from a fake one?
- IC3 does not maintain social media and does not contact people by phone, email, Messenger, Telegram, or chat to investigate or recover money. File or update a complaint only by typing www.ic3.gov yourself. If the FBI needs to follow up, agents from a local field office contact you—not a social profile or a payment demand.
- They used a real officer's name and photo. Doesn't that make it real?
- No. Honolulu Police described a fraud group misusing a former CrimeStoppers sergeant's name and photo while posing as an FBI IC3 agent. Public photos and names can be copied. Verify through the agency's official publicly listed number, not a number or profile the contact gives you.
- They said I have to pay for classes to drop charges. Is that ever real?
- No. Honolulu Police warned that a caller posing as a sergeant with a fake badge and spoofed caller ID demanded Apple Pay, Zelle, or Cash App for classes to dismiss charges. Real agencies do not clear charges that way over the phone.
Practice this safely
Practice stopping a fake IC3 recovery contact and typing www.ic3.gov yourself instead of clicking a link.
Every story is fictional. There is no timer, no score, and no real message, payment, or account.
Tell someone
Copy a short note you can paste into a text or email. It names the scam, the next step, and this page. Nothing is sent from this site.
Someone Says They're FBI and Can Recover Your Lost Money? Hang Up Hang up if someone who says they are the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center—or an FBI agent handling an IC3 report—contacts you about recovering money or updating a complaint. On July 20, 2026 the FBI's IC3 warned that scammers impersonate IC3 and FBI personnel on social media and messaging apps, use AI deepfake videos, and send people to look-alike complaint sites. The real IC3 does not maintain social media, does not investigate or recover money over Messenger or Telegram, and never asks for payment to get losses back. Stop contact and type www.ic3.gov yourself into the browser address bar. Read the full alert: https://endscamsproject.com/latest-scams/fbi-ic3-impersonation-scam
Where this comes from
These links open the published sources in a new tab. The destination is shown before you open it.
- FBI IC3: Warns of scammers impersonating the IC3 (PSA260720, July 20, 2026) (opens in a new tab)
ic3.gov
- InvestigateTV: Inside the scam — how criminals impersonate the FBI's complaint center (September 25, 2026) (opens in a new tab)
investigatetv.com
- Hawaii News Now: HPD warns of scams impersonating law enforcement, government agencies (October 3, 2026) (opens in a new tab)
hawaiinewsnow.com
- FBI IC3: Scammers impersonating law enforcement and government officials (PSA260917, September 17, 2026) (opens in a new tab)
ic3.gov
- Report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (opens in a new tab)
ReportFraud.ftc.gov
The full guide on this
More recent alerts
This alert provides general educational information drawn from the sources above. It cannot determine whether a specific message you received is genuine, investigate an incident, or promise recovery or reimbursement.