FTC warns 'investigation' email scam is back

Fake email claims you are under investigation by the agency

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It's back! The Federal Trade Commission says a scam email that first popped up in 2015, is once again making its rounds.

Scammers are pretending to be from the FTC, and are emailing people telling them they are under investigation. The email instructs the recipient to click on a provided link for more information.

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If you get one of these emails, do not click the link. The FTC says the federal government will not tell people they are under investigation by email.

The emails are sometimes phishing scams designed to collect personal information -- like your email and IP address -- which could then be used to commit identity theft.

Other times, the links are used to install malware on your computer. This could cause your devise to crash, ore let the fraudster monitor and control your online activity, steal your personal information, send spam and commit fraud.

If you get an email saying you are under investigation by the FTC, or that you are required to be a witness, the FTC says the email is fake. Do not click on the link.

In order to track this scam email and others claiming to be from the FTC, if you get one, you can forward it to the FTC's email address for spam: spam@uce.gov. But, most importantly, the FTC says delete the email.

For more information on how to spot an imposter scam, go here