This article is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, financial, or tax advice, and no attorney-client relationship is formed by reading it. Laws, regulations, official guidance, and related information vary by jurisdiction, change frequently, and may have changed or become outdated since the publication date. Always verify current information with authoritative sources and consult a qualified professional about your specific circumstances. The author and publisher assume no liability for actions taken based on this information.
Key Facts
- Federal level: No single federal portal handles every scam; the correct channel depends on how the scheme operated and what it affected.
- Federal level: The FTC’s ReportFraud system accepts reports about many consumer scams and shares report information with law-enforcement partners.
- Federal level: Internet-enabled fraud can be reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at the official IC3.gov domain.
- Federal level: Fraud involving the U.S. Mail can be reported to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Reporting starts with the way the scam operated
A scam may involve several systems at once, including a phone call, social-media account, bank transfer, website, cryptocurrency wallet, or mailed package.
USAGov’s federal routing tool asks where the scam occurred, its category, and additional details before identifying an appropriate reporting channel.
A separate fraud explainer provides background on that legal concept.
The FTC is the broad consumer-reporting channel
ReportFraud.ftc.gov accepts reports about scams, deceptive business practices, and other consumer problems within the FTC’s reporting system.
The FTC uses reports to identify patterns and makes them available to law-enforcement partners, but it does not resolve each individual report as a private dispute.
A separate FTC identity-theft report overview covers identity-theft reporting.
Internet and technology scams can go to IC3
The FBI describes IC3 as its complaint center for suspected internet-facilitated crime.
An IC3 report can include contact methods, website addresses, transaction dates, payment details, receiving accounts, cryptocurrency addresses, and a narrative of the interaction.
The FBI warned in September 2025 that criminals were spoofing IC3, so the official address should end in .gov and read www.ic3.gov.
Mail-related scams have a postal channel
The Postal Inspection Service accepts reports of suspected fraud using the United States Mail, including lottery, investment, romance, and online-auction schemes with a mail connection.
Its reporting page separately routes mail theft, counterfeit postage, suspicious mail, and USPS-themed scam messages.
A police report serves a different purpose
Local law enforcement handles emergencies and local crime reports, while federal portals collect information within their agency missions.
The separate guide to reporting a scammer to police explains that distinction in more detail.
Useful reports preserve concrete facts
Official FBI guidance identifies useful details such as names used, contact methods, dates, amounts, transaction information, websites, receiving institutions, and cryptocurrency addresses.
