Scammers impersonate FBI on social media, prey on crime victims

IC3 says any account claiming to represent it is fake

Real FBI agents won't slide into your DMs and offer to help you recover stolen funds. The bureau's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) updated an earlier warning on Monday about scammers impersonating the agency online, saying fraudsters continue to use the scheme "to deceive and revictimize individuals."

According to IC3, there are two different schemes being used to target cybercrime victims, both directly and by soliciting them to report incidents.

In the first scheme, IC3 said scammers create fraudulent social media profiles and pages impersonating FBI personnel or IC3. They may also infiltrate online groups for fraud victims or contact victims directly while claiming to represent the FBI or the complaint center.

In other cases, victims are being contacted by someone claiming to be an FBI agent after realizing they were approached by someone trying to scam them and...

Copyright of this story solely belongs to theregister.com. To see the full text click HERE