Get the latest tech news

FBI warns its scam reporting site is being spoofed - how to avoid getting tricked


Scammers are impersonating the agency's Internet Crime Complaint Center. Here's how to be sure that you're going to the real site.

In a public service announcement (PSA) alert published on September 19, the FBI said that cybercriminals are spoofing the IC3, and fraudulent versions of the government website have been detected by US law enforcement. This data, such as names, physical addresses, phone numbers, and banking information, may then be used to conduct identity theft or to make fraudulent purchases. The FBI's advice on the issue is sound: If you need to submit a report, type www.ic3.gov directly into the address bar of your browser, and avoid search engines where possible -- especially if they are presented in "sponsored" results, as this could be a paid method to redirect traffic away from the legitimate IC3 website.

Get the Android app

Or read this on ZDNet

Read more on:

Photo of FBI

FBI

Photo of scam reporting site

scam reporting site

Related news:

News photo

FBI warns of cybercriminals using fake FBI crime reporting portals

News photo

Man held 3 years in jail by FBI for refusing to decrypt TOR NODES

News photo

FBI couldn't get my husband to decrypt his Tor node so he was jailed for 3 years