US authorities have announced the seizure of 13 internet domains tied to what the US Justice Department called fake consulting firms designed to recruit current or former US government and military employees to provide information to suspected Chinese agents.
These fake firms target people via job listings for consulting or analyst roles, and then pressure applicants for exclusive or insider information, the department said in a statement.
"(Wednesday's) seizures send a clear message that any attempts to exploit Americans trusted with access to our nation's most sensitive information will be exposed and dismantled," US Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia said in the statement.
According to an FBI affidavit filed in connection with the website seizure, the fake websites relied on fraudulent or stolen identities and AI-generated photographs to give them the appearance of legitimacy, and advertised generic "consulting" jobs geared toward current or former US government employees.
"These websites are often linked or referenced within the entities' job postings on LinkedIn and other hiring platforms," the affidavit said.
The announcement of the domain seizures came a week after the United States, UK, Australia and the other Five Eyes intelligence alliance countries warned of China aggressively and increasingly using job platforms to target people for information.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said "the allegation of so-called 'Chinese espionage threat' is entirely fabricated and constitutes malicious slander. We strongly condemn this."
Allegations that Chinese intelligence is using fake consultancies to recruit American and other Western officials are not new.
Reuters reported in March 2025 that a similar network of fake consulting firms was attempting to enlist federal employees who had been recently fired as part of President Donald Trump's downsizing and reshaping of the government.
The FBI and the National Counterintelligence and Security Centre published a short film in September 2020 dramatising the case of former CIA officer Kevin Mallory, who in 2019 was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted on charges of conspiring to transmit US defence secrets to China.
Mallory had initially been recruited for foreign policy consulting via social media, according to court records, and his story is prominently featured on an FBI website warning of "virtual espionage" using similar tactics.
with AP
