The FBI’s very own website for reporting cyber crimes has ironically been spoofed by scammers.
Threat actors are creating fake websites imitating the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) government site that allows the public to report cyber crimes, the federal agency said in a public service announcement on Friday.
The FBI, the US’s law enforcement and intelligence agency working against cyberattacks, terrorist threats, public corruption and other crimes, is warning Americans against entering their information on the fake sites.
‘A spoofed website is designed to impersonate a legitimate website and may be used for illegal conduct, such as personal information theft and to facilitate monetary scams,’ states the announcement.
‘Threat actors create spoofed websites often by slightly altering characteristics of legitimate website domains, with the purpose of gathering personally identifiable information entered by a user into the site, including name, home address, phone number, email address, and banking information.’
The spoofed sites could have alternate spellings of certain words or a different domain that is similar to the real FBI page.
Internet users could come across the impersonating websites while searching for the actual IC3 site.
The FBI has provided numerous tips to help Americans avoid falling victim.
People should type in the IC3 website, http://www.ic3.gov, directly into the address bar of the Internet browser instead of using a search engine and clicking a site.
Those using a search engine should make sure that the URL ends with .gov and is correct, and avoid clicking on any sponsored results.
‘Never click on links that may include suspicious artifacts or graphics, such as unprofessional or low-quality graphics used to imitate a legitimate website,’ states the announcement.
‘Never share sensitive information if you are unsure of the website’s legitimacy.’
Of note is that the IC3 does not have social media accounts and will never ask for a payment to recover lost funds.
Anyone who encounters a spoof IC3 site is urged to contact their local FBI field office and report details on the person or company that was in contact, the communication methods used, a description of the interaction and the nature of the financial transaction.
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