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SCARS|RSN™ Insight: What Does The FBI’s IC3.gov Actually Do?
The FBI’s IC3 Accepts Online Internet Crime Complaints From Either The Actual Victim Or From A Third Party To The Complainant
They say that they can best process a complaint if they receive accurate and complete information from the person making the report. They request people provide the following information when filing a complaint:
- Victim’s name, address, telephone, and email
- Financial transaction information (e.g., account information, transaction date and amount, who received the money)
- Subject’s name, address, telephone, email, website, and IP address
- Specific details on how you were victimized
- Email header(s)
- Any other relevant information you believe is necessary to support your complaint
Sadly, most FBI IC3.gov reports are not investigated, but they are kept for later use if there is a need.
But What Is IC3.gov?
IC3.gov is a collection point for online crime reports.
U.S. FBI IC3.gov Core Functions
It collects information and then stores it in a closed database accessible to the FBI. But there is a problem, namely that the FBI does not really share information with other agencies unless they ask for it. Unfortunately, others do not know it exists so cannot ask for it.
Also, it is NOT the only place reports must be made. The first place to report these crimes if you lost money is your Local Police so you can include the police report number in your IC3 complaint. Then, also report the crime on www.Anyscam.com so it goes global over the SCARS|CDN Cybercrime Data Network -the SCARS Anti-Scam Data Reporting Network that goes out of over 1,000 entities around the world.
IC3 It is not an investigative service. Only if enough information is collected can the FBI itself step in and act. And even then, they are limited by international law and treaties.
However, Most Victims Blame The FBI For Not Doing Anything, Yet They Do Exactly What They Say They Will Do
As we have presented over and over, they do quite a lot. They just don’t do what many victims want them to do. Which is rush right out and arrest scammers. Part of the reason for that is the quality of the information provided to them.
Their job is to collect the information so the U.S. Government can make accurate threat assessments and prioritize actions. But still to this dat, with all the recent successes at arresting scammers in 2018, most victims still do not report. It is estimated that only 3-5% is reported by victims, the other simply do not bother. So that the United States Government assessments are significantly distorted and underestimated by at least 95%.
At lot is being done constantly. In 2018 more than 20,000 scammers and mules have been arrested.