FBI warns of fake websites imitating their Internet Crime Complaint Center

Earlier this month, the FBI issued an announcement detailing how scammers are creating fake websites that imitate the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). IC3 is an official government website where victims of cybercrimes report the incident to the FBI. The FBI warned that threat actors are creating spoofed websites that closely mirror the IC3 site in order to collect sensitive information from victims such as name, address, and banking information. A spoofed site may be inadvertently accessed as domains to these sites may be spelled incorrectly.

To avoid becoming a victim of such a scam, the FBI recommends the following:

• Instead of using a search engine to locate the site, type ic3.gov into the address bar.
• Ensure the IC3 website you’re visiting ends in [.]gov.
• Avoid links that include low-quality or unprofessional graphics or that are “sponsored.”
• IC3 will not ask you for payment in order to recover your stolen funds. Similarly, IC3 will not refer you to someone requesting such a payment.
• Remember: IC3 does not have any social media and will only report incidents to the official website.

If you have questions about your company’s compliance with cyber regulations, concerns about vulnerability to a ransomware attack or other breach, or if you want to learn more about proactive cybersecurity defense, contact a member of McDonald Hopkins’ national data privacy and cybersecurity team.