Remote-Delivered Scam Watch — August 11, 2026

Scammers Are Impersonating the FBI Itself — Using AI-Generated Videos — to Re-Scam People Who Already Lost Money

Scammers purchase or compile lists of people who have previously paid money to a scammer — these lists circulate in criminal markets and include names, phone numbers, email addresses, and sometimes what kind of scam the person fell for and how much they lost. Armed with this information, the criminal approaches the prior victim while posing as an FBI agent or an official working at the IC3, the FBI's actual internet crime reporting center. The approach arrives through social media messaging, online forums for fraud survivors, messaging apps, email, or phone calls — wherever they can reach the prior victim directly.

The pitch is specifically tailored to exploit the emotions of someone who already suffered a loss: the fake FBI contact claims the bureau has identified and investigated the original scammer, that funds are being recovered or have been recovered, and that the victim simply needs to provide some additional information — or pay a small "release fee," "processing charge," or "tax" — to receive their recovery. The July 30, 2026 FBI update specifically documented the use of AI-generated video, including a case where scammers created a deepfake video depicting what appeared to be a senior FBI official encouraging victims to submit complaints through a fake IC3 website, giving the entire scheme a level of visual authenticity that is very difficult to dismiss.

The spoofed websites look nearly identical to the real ic3.gov domain, using slight misspellings or different top-level domains. Any personal or financial information submitted on a fake IC3 site goes directly to the scammer — which in some cases leads not only to financial loss but to identity theft, since victims may provide Social Security numbers, bank account details, or other sensitive data while believing they are filing an official complaint.

• Someone claiming to be from the FBI, IC3, or a government agency contacts you unsolicited through social media, a messaging app, a forum, or email
• The contact references a prior scam you experienced and claims funds are being or have been recovered
• You are asked to pay any fee, tax, release charge, or processing cost before receiving your "recovery"
• The contact sends a video of an official-looking person or government setting — AI deepfakes of authority figures are being specifically documented in this campaign
• The website URL is not exactly ic3.gov — look for slight differences in spelling or domain (e.g., ic3.gov.us, ic3-official.gov, ic3report.com)
• The contact found you in a social media group for scam victims, fraud recovery, or financial loss support

• If anyone contacts you claiming to be from the FBI or IC3 about recovering money, do not engage — hang up, close the message, or leave the group where you were contacted
• File any actual internet crime complaint only at the real ic3.gov, typed directly into your browser address bar — do not use a link someone sent you
• Never pay any fee to recover money you have already lost — no legitimate agency charges a fee to return recovered funds
• If you already provided information to a suspected fake IC3 site, contact your bank immediately and consider placing a fraud alert on your credit file with the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion)
• If you are 60 or older and need assistance, the Department of Justice Elder Justice Hotline (1-833-FRAUD-11 / 833-372-8311) is specifically staffed to help

That 50%-Off Designer Bag in Your Social Media Feed Is Probably a Scam

Scammers set up fake online storefronts — often convincingly designed, with product photos, fake reviews, and what looks like a legitimate checkout — and then pay to advertise them through the standard paid advertising systems on social media platforms. Because the ad appears in your feed through the same mechanism as any legitimate retailer's ad, it visually carries the implicit trust of the platform even when the advertiser behind it is fraudulent. The FTC notes specifically that social media platforms do not always thoroughly vet the advertisers running on their systems, which means an ad appearing in your feed on any major social platform should not by itself be treated as an endorsement of the seller's legitimacy.

The most common lures are steep discounts on high-demand, high-cost goods — designer handbags, shoes, electronics, luxury items — priced at 40% to 70% off apparent retail, framed as limited-time offers to create urgency. Once a victim clicks through and enters payment card details to complete the "purchase," one of several things happens: the card details are harvested immediately for fraud and no goods are ever shipped; a counterfeit or entirely different, low-quality item is shipped; or the transaction simply never completes and the victim cannot reach the seller. In each case, recovering the money is difficult because the transaction often appears as a legitimate card charge to the victim's bank.

• You discovered the retailer only through a social media ad — you have never heard of the brand before and cannot find it independently through a direct browser search
• The discount is unusually large for a brand-name or luxury item (40%+ off, or a price that seems dramatically below what you'd expect)
• A "limited time only" or countdown timer is used to create urgency
• The website URL does not match the brand name exactly, or contains slight misspellings or extra words
• The site has no verifiable contact information, no physical address, or only a contact email with a free provider (Gmail, Yahoo)
• Reviews on the site are all generic, heavily positive, and undated

• Before buying from any retailer you found through a social media ad, open a new browser tab and search for the brand name directly — look for an established website, press coverage, and independent reviews on platforms not controlled by the seller
• Check the brand's official social media accounts (if they exist) and compare them against the ad you saw — legitimate brands have consistent, established presences
• If you made a purchase and the goods never arrived or the site has vanished, contact your card issuer immediately to dispute the charge — most card issuers have protections for fraudulent merchants
• Report fake social media ads through the platform's own reporting tool and to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov