The FBI wants to warn everyone about an ongoing fraud scheme where criminal scammers are impersonating the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) employees to deceive and defraud individuals. On every public service announcement, the FBI directs victims to file their information at the FBI’s www.ic3.gov reporting apparatus. But I want to stress the information in the IC3 has not been compromised, it’s just individuals who know they scammed someone is hoping they reached out to IC3 and further victimize them for more money.
Between December 2023 and February 2025, the FBI received more than 100 reports of IC3 impersonation scams.
Complainants report initial contact from the scammers can vary. Some individuals received an email or a phone call, while others were approached via social media or forums. Almost all complainants indicated the scammers claimed to have recovered the victim’s lost funds or offered to assist in recovering funds. However, the claim is a ruse to revictimize those who have already lost money to scams.
A recent example of the impersonation scheme variant indicates scammers create female persona profiles on social media networking sites and join groups for financial fraud victims, representing themselves as fellow financial fraud victims. Scammers then recommend actual victims reach out to male persona, “Jaime Quin” (Quin), the alleged “Chief Director” of IC3, via Telegram. Once contacted, “Quin” claims to have recovered the lost funds, but uses this as a ruse to gain access to their financial information and revictimize them.
Tips to Protect Yourself
- The IC3 will never directly communicate with individuals via phone, email, social media, phone apps, or public forums. If further information is needed, individuals will be contacted by FBI employees from local field offices or other law enforcement officers.
- Scammers will change aliases and tactics; however, the scheme generally remains the same.
- Never share sensitive information with people you have met only online or over the phone.
- The IC3 will not ask for payment to recover lost funds, nor will they refer a victim to a company requesting payment for recovering funds.
- Do not send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or other assets to people you do not know or have met only online or over the phone.
I ask you all to share this information especially since this is Elder Fraud Awareness Month. We don’t want individuals to be re-victimized by scammers pretending to be someone they should be comfortable sharing information with. If we all tell one person, and they tell one person, we can make sure more people know how to stop this scam.
John Morales
Special Agent in Charge, FBI El Paso
With El Paso so close to the Mexican border and Mexico in the throws of revolutionary struggle during the early 1900s, southwest Texas became a key focus of the Bureau soon after its founding in 1908. As the FBI heads into its second century, the El Paso Division remains committed to protecting the people and defending the nation while upholding the rule of law and the civil liberties of all.