About the FBI IC3 Recovery Asset Team (RAT)

Established in February 2018, the Internet Crime Complaint Center Recovery Asset Team (IC3 RAT) is a specialized operational unit within the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The RAT was formed to directly address the surge in cyber-enabled financial crimes—specifically Business Email Compromise (BEC), real estate wire fraud, and complex wire transfer interception.

Prior to the RAT's inception, victims of wire fraud faced severe delays when attempting to recall funds through traditional police reports or multi-week grand jury subpoenas. Because stolen funds are rapidly moved through domestic and international money mule networks within hours, standard processes were insufficient. The IC3 RAT bridges crime reporting, federal law enforcement action, and financial institution anti-money laundering (AML) departments in near real-time.

The cornerstone of the RAT's operational success is the Financial Fraud Kill Chain (FFKC). The FFKC is an emergency administrative protocol used to freeze fraudulently transferred funds while they remain in transit or in beneficiary accounts.

By establishing direct public-private partnerships with AML and fraud units at major banking institutions, the RAT requests emergency administrative holds or indemnity recalls immediately upon complaint verification.

Read the Full RAT Operational Report & FFKC Workflow

The mission of the FBI IC3 Recovery Asset Team is to provide rapid financial triage, intercept stolen assets, coordinate federal law enforcement seizure proceedings, and return funds to victims of financial cybercrime.

• $1 Billion+ in fraudulent wire transfers frozen or recovered since 2018.
• 70%–75% Success Rate for wire recalls activated within 48 hours of transaction initiation.
• Established direct escalation channels with FinCEN, United States Attorney's Offices, and financial compliance departments nationwide.

Originally established in 2000 as the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC), the organization was renamed in October 2003 to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) to reflect its broader mandate over computer intrusions, extortion, economic espionage, identity theft, and major cyber-enabled financial schemes. The deployment of the Recovery Asset Team in 2018 transformed IC3 from an intelligence intake portal into an active financial recovery unit.