Federal authorities have shut down more than a dozen fraudulent websites that were allegedly being used by Chinese operatives to recruit American workers with access to classified government materials, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
According to officials, the 13 seized websites presented themselves as legitimate consulting firms posting job opportunities specifically targeting individuals who currently hold or previously held security clearances. However, investigators determined these companies were completely fabricated and the employment opportunities were fraudulent.
This domain seizure represents part of a larger campaign by Western intelligence and law enforcement agencies to raise awareness about suspected Chinese government schemes aimed at recruiting workers who could be manipulated into revealing classified materials.
Just last week, the Five Eyes intelligence alliance — consisting of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S. — released an advisory cautioning that China has been targeting personnel from member nations through employment websites to gain access to restricted information.
The advisory revealed that Chinese military intelligence operatives have been impersonating employees of legitimate private companies or research organizations, posting fake positions such as foreign policy or defense analyst roles while pressuring job seekers to share “non-public” materials.
Court documents filed by the FBI in connection with the website seizure indicate that the fraudulent sites used stolen identities and artificially generated photos to appear credible, while posting vague “consulting” positions aimed at current and former government workers.
“These websites are often linked or referenced within the entities’ job postings on LinkedIn and other hiring platforms,” the affidavit said.
The Justice Department stated that job seekers and recruits received monetary compensation for work-related reports and sensitive materials. Officials allege the scheme’s operators, believed to have connections to Chinese intelligence agencies, utilized digital currency and online payment platforms to conceal their true identities.
Authorities discovered these websites through information provided by targets who reported suspicious contact attempts to law enforcement.
“A lot of this information came from doing interviews, interviews with people who came forward that something didn’t seem right,” Dan Wierzbicki, the special agent in charge of the counterintelligence and cyber division of the FBI’s Washington field office, said in an interview.
“They provided information and said, ‘Hey, this is kind of weird, we’re kind of getting paid by a cryptocurrency or an online payment system that’s not typical,” he added.
Wierzbicki indicated the FBI suspects additional websites are operating with similar purposes and has requested public assistance in locating them.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington called allegations of Chinese espionage “entirely fabricated” and “malicious slander.”
