Guide · 8-minute read · For US victims · Updated June 2026
How to Report a Scam to the FTC and IC3
You spotted the scam. Now you need to report it. This is the step-by-step walkthrough for filing with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) — what to gather, what to write, and what each agency actually does with your report.
Before you file: gather the evidence in one place
Run every phone number, website, wallet address, or social handle through the free GACS Safe Scanner. You'll get a verdict against an 80,000-entity blacklist plus a copy-paste evidence summary you can drop straight into the FTC and IC3 forms.
Open the Safe ScannerFTC report — ReportFraud.ftc.gov
The FTC is the US consumer-protection regulator. Your report feeds the Consumer Sentinel Network, which is shared with state attorneys general, the FBI, and over 2,800 law-enforcement agencies. Filing takes about 7 minutes.
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Open ReportFraud.ftc.gov
Go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov in your browser — type it in directly, don't search. The FTC site is the only official channel for consumer-fraud reports in the United States. There is no phone-in shortcut and no paid filing service is required.
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Pick the category that matches what happened
Online shopping, romance, investment, impostor (IRS, Social Security, tech support), job/employment, identity theft, or 'something else'. If you're unsure, pick 'something else' and describe it — the FTC routes the report regardless.
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Enter dates, amounts, and how you were contacted
When it happened, how you were first contacted (text, call, email, social, ad), how much money you lost (estimate is fine), and how you paid (gift card, wire, crypto, ACH, credit card). Payment method drives the FTC's enforcement priorities.
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Paste the scammer's identifiers
Every phone number, email, website, social handle, wallet address, and company name involved. Copy them from the original messages — typos break the FTC's matching against existing case clusters.
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Add a short narrative
Two or three sentences in plain language: what you were promised, what they asked you to do, when you realized it was fake. Skip emotion; investigators scan thousands of reports.
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Submit and save the confirmation number
You'll get a reference number immediately. Screenshot it. The FTC does not investigate individual reports, but the reference number lets you cite the filing to your bank, card issuer, or a follow-up agency like the police.
Official URL: reportfraud.ftc.gov . Help line: 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).
IC3 complaint — IC3.gov
IC3 is the FBI's intake for internet-enabled crime. Use it whenever the scam touched email, text, social media, dating apps, crypto, or any online platform — even if the dollar amount is small. Complaints are aggregated into federal investigations and inter-agency task forces.
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Open IC3.gov and click 'File a Complaint'
IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center) is run by the FBI. Use it whenever the scam involved the internet — including text, email, social media, dating apps, crypto, or any online platform. You can file even if you're not in the US, as long as the crime touched a US victim, business, or platform.
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Accept the disclaimer and create the complaint
IC3 will show a one-page disclaimer about how it shares data with law enforcement. Accept it. You don't need to create an account — each complaint is a self-contained submission.
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Enter victim information
Your name, address, age range, phone, and email. Use real information — IC3 cannot route a complaint to local law enforcement if the address is fake. If you're filing on behalf of someone else (a parent, an elderly relative), there's a separate field for the third-party reporter.
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Describe the financial loss
Total amount, currency, and payment method. For crypto, include the chain (BTC, ETH, USDT-ERC20, etc.), the wallet address you sent to, and the transaction hash. For wires, include the receiving bank and account name as they appeared on the wire form.
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Describe what happened
Up to 5,000 characters. Lead with: how you were contacted, what you were promised, every platform involved, every identifier (handles, URLs, wallets, phone numbers), and the timeline. Paste the scammer's exact wording where it matters — investigators search across complaints for repeated phrasing.
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Submit and save the complaint ID
You'll receive an IC3 complaint number. Save it. If new evidence appears later (more messages, another wallet address, a recovery-scam follow-up), file an addendum referencing the same complaint number rather than starting a fresh report.
Official URL: ic3.gov . IC3 does not take phone reports.
Before you file — if it's still happening
If money is leaving your accounts right now, call your bank's fraud line before you do anything else. Wires can sometimes be recalled within hours; cards can be frozen instantly. Reports to the FTC and IC3 come after the bleeding stops.
Open the Panic GuideAfter you file
- Bank or card issuer: Cite your FTC and IC3 reference numbers when you dispute the charge or request a wire recall.
- Identity theft: File a separate IdentityTheft.gov report — it generates the recovery plan creditors require.
- Local police: Required for most insurance and tax-deduction claims. Bring your FTC and IC3 reference numbers.
- Outside the US: Use GACS's per-country reporting directory.
Avoid the recovery-scam trap
Within days of filing, you may be contacted by someone claiming they can recover your money for an upfront fee. Every one of these is a follow-up scam. The FTC, IC3, FBI, and your bank never charge fees for recovery and never reach out first.
How recovery scams workFAQ
What's the difference between FTC and IC3 — and do I need to file both?
Yes, file both for any online scam involving money. The FTC (ReportFraud.ftc.gov) is the consumer-protection regulator; its data drives enforcement priorities, refund programs, and shared databases used by state attorneys general. IC3 (ic3.gov) is the FBI's intake for internet crime; it feeds federal investigations and inter-agency task forces. They do not share data automatically. The two filings take about 15 minutes combined.
Will the FTC or IC3 get my money back?
Usually no — neither agency recovers funds for individuals on its own. Recovery, when it happens, comes from your bank, card issuer, or wire originator. File anyway: both reports create a paper trail your bank will ask for, and they sometimes lead to class-action distributions years later (the FTC has returned billions through enforcement actions).
What if the scam is happening right now?
Stop sending money first, then call your bank's fraud line (the number on the back of your card) — wires can sometimes be recalled within hours. After that, file with the FTC and IC3, and open the GACS Panic Guide for step-by-step recovery actions.
Do I need to file a police report too?
Yes if you lost a meaningful amount or your identity was stolen. Local police rarely investigate online fraud themselves, but the report number is required by most insurance claims, identity-restoration services, and tax-loss deductions. Cite your FTC and IC3 reference numbers in the police report.
Can I file IC3 if I'm not in the United States?
Yes, if the scam involved a US victim, business, platform, or financial institution. IC3 accepts complaints from anywhere in the world. If the scam was purely between non-US parties, file with your country's national fraud-reporting body instead — GACS keeps a directory at /report-scam.
What information should I gather before I start?
Every phone number, email, URL, social handle, wallet address, and company name from the original messages; dates of first and last contact; total amount lost and payment method; receipts, screenshots, or transaction hashes; and a two-paragraph plain-language summary. The GACS Safe Scanner can verify the identifiers you already have against an 80,000-entity blacklist before you file.