The recovery scam that impersonates the FBI.
After someone loses money to fraud, a second criminal may arrive claiming the government has recovered it.
Recovery scams exploit a victim’s existing loss. The approach may begin through email, telephone, social media or an advertisement. The impersonator claims to represent the FBI, the Internet Crime Complaint Center or a recovery service and says missing funds have been located.
The promise is a pretext. The target may be directed to a spoofed complaint website, asked for financial information or told to send money, gift cards or cryptocurrency before recovered funds can be released.
This explainer is based on the FBI IC3’s July 20, 2026 warning about criminals impersonating IC3 personnel and using spoofed websites and AI-generated media. Read the original alert ↗
Why the approach is convincing
The impersonator already knows the target was defrauded or finds public discussion of the loss. Official-looking logos, reference numbers, copied website layouts and synthetic videos can reinforce the story. The emotional appeal is direct: the victim is offered a way to reverse an earlier mistake.
Signals that the contact is fraudulent
- An alleged IC3 representative initiates contact through social media, Telegram or a similar messaging service.
- The person promises to recover money in exchange for a fee or sensitive information.
- A link imitates an official site but uses a different domain.
- The contact demands cryptocurrency, gift cards or immediate payment.
The FBI says IC3 does not maintain social-media profiles and does not recover funds through social platforms. Reports should be filed by navigating independently to IC3.gov, not through a link supplied by an unsolicited contact.