FBI Cybercrime Phone Number and Reporting Help

Report internet-enabled crime to the FBI through the Internet Crime Complaint Center, known as IC3, or contact an FBI field office when direct contact is appropriate. If anyone faces immediate physical danger, call 911 or local police instead of waiting for a routine cybercrime report to be reviewed.

IC3 is the FBI’s central system for reports involving online scams, fraud, phishing, ransomware, malware, account compromise, and similar internet-enabled crime. Filing a report records the incident for law-enforcement and intelligence purposes, but it does not guarantee an investigation, a reply, or recovery of lost funds.

What are the official FBI cybercrime contact options?

For most victims, the official starting point is the Internet Crime Complaint Center. IC3 accepts reports from individuals, businesses, and people reporting on someone else’s behalf.

• IC3: Use IC3.gov for an online scam, fraud, phishing attempt, malware incident, ransomware event, or other internet-enabled crime.
• FBI field office: Contact the office serving your area when the incident is ongoing, involves a threat to life or national security, seriously disrupts an organization, or requires direct discussion with an agent.
• FBI online tip form: Use the official tip channel for terrorism, national-security threats, threats of violence, or information about another federal crime.
• Local law enforcement: Contact local police for immediate danger, crimes requiring a prompt local response, or a local police report.

There is no need to guess an FBI cybercrime phone number from a search result. Open the company’s official website, choose the contact option that matches the incident, and use the field-office information shown there. Anyone searching for an “FBI cyber crime phone number” should verify the listing on the FBI’s own site before calling.

How do I report a cybercrime to the FBI?

1. Go to IC3.gov and choose the option to file a complaint.
2. Identify whether you are the affected person or are submitting the report for another person or business.
3. Enter the requested contact and incident information. Complete required fields and provide optional details when they are available.
4. Describe what happened in chronological order, including how contact began, what the suspect requested, what accounts or devices were affected, and what actions followed.
5. Add relevant transaction and technical details, such as account identifiers, cryptocurrency addresses, transaction IDs, email headers, IP addresses, or ransomware information.
6. Review the complaint for accuracy, complete the required signature statement, and submit it.
7. Keep the submission information and preserve the original evidence. If important new facts emerge, identify the later submission as an update to the earlier complaint when the form provides that option.

Submit as much accurate information as you have. Missing optional details should not lead you to guess, and knowingly false information must not be included.

When should I call the FBI about cybercrime?

Direct contact with an FBI field office may be appropriate for an ongoing intrusion, ransomware affecting an organization, a serious threat to life, a national-security concern, or a major incident that is still unfolding. The FBI’s official contact page lists field offices and routes for different report types.

Not every online problem belongs solely with the FBI. Use local police for immediate safety concerns or when a local report is needed. Report crimes against children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Notify the affected financial institution promptly about an unauthorized or fraudulent transaction, while also reporting internet-enabled crime to IC3 when appropriate.

An IC3 complaint is not a substitute for emergency assistance, and the FBI is not general customer support for banks, email providers, social networks, or online stores.

What information should I prepare before contacting the FBI?

Gather facts before starting, but do not delay an urgent report merely because one item is missing. Preserve originals and work from copies when possible.

• Dates, times, locations, and a clear timeline of events.
• Names, usernames, email addresses, caller information, social-media profiles, and other identifiers used by the suspected offender.
• Messages, emails, email headers, voicemail records, screenshots, and files received.
• Transaction dates, payment types, account identifiers, transaction IDs, receiving institution details, and cryptocurrency wallet addresses.
• Names of affected accounts, devices, applications, organizations, and people.
• Technical details such as IP addresses, domain names, malware alerts, file names, or ransomware notes.
• Prior report numbers and the names of agencies or institutions already contacted.
• A concise description of what information you disclosed and what the other person instructed you to do.

Do not alter suspicious files or delete communications that may be evidence. Do not place highly sensitive personal data into narrative fields unless the official form specifically requests it.

What should I do if the cyber threat is immediate?

If someone is in immediate physical danger, call 911 or local police now. Do not rely on an IC3 complaint or a routine FBI message to obtain emergency help.

If there is an ongoing threat to life, violence, terrorism, or national security but no immediate need for emergency dispatch, use the FBI’s official threat-reporting channel or contact the appropriate field office. For a cyber incident actively disrupting a business or organization, follow the organization’s incident-response plan and contact the field office when the seriousness of the event warrants direct federal contact.

Keep your explanation brief and factual: state what is happening, who may be at risk, where the event is occurring, and what evidence supports the concern.

How can I avoid an FBI impersonation scam?

Scammers may pretend to be FBI employees or claim they can manage an IC3 complaint. Caller ID, an official-looking email, a badge image, or knowledge of your earlier report does not prove that the contact is genuine.

• Do not move money, send cryptocurrency, provide gift cards, or transfer funds because a caller claiming to be from the FBI demands it.
• Do not trust a phone number, button, or website supplied in an unexpected message.
• End the contact, open the company’s official website independently, and use the official field-office listing to verify the person’s claim.
• Check the exact spelling of any site name. Search advertisements and look-alike pages can imitate government services.
• Do not disclose passwords, one-time security codes, or remote access to your device.
• Report the impersonation attempt to IC3 and include the caller information, messages, payment instructions, and other available evidence.

A genuine-looking contact can still be fraudulent. Independent verification through an official FBI channel is safer than calling back through information supplied by the person who contacted you.