diff --git a/changelog.d/2989.fixed.md b/changelog.d/2989.fixed.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..be2d1a7100
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/2989.fixed.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix IPAM API crash bug that caused unnecessary error reports sent as e-mail to site admins
diff --git a/python/nav/web/ipam/prefix_tree.py b/python/nav/web/ipam/prefix_tree.py
index b3d5e4c1d3..014ba843de 100644
--- a/python/nav/web/ipam/prefix_tree.py
+++ b/python/nav/web/ipam/prefix_tree.py
@@ -467,10 +467,10 @@ def make_tree(prefixes, family=None, root_ip=None, show_all=None, sort_by="ip"):
     init = []
 
     if root_ip is not None and root_ip:
-        scope = Prefix.objects.get(net_address=root_ip)
-        if scope is not None:
+        try:
+            scope = Prefix.objects.get(net_address=root_ip)
             node = PrefixNode(scope)
-        else:
+        except Prefix.DoesNotExist:
             node = FauxNode(root_ip, "scope", "scope")
         init.append(node)
 
diff --git a/tests/integration/web/ipam/api_test.py b/tests/integration/web/ipam/api_test.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b398aacd41
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/web/ipam/api_test.py
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+class TestPrefixViewSet:
+    def test_when_prefix_address_is_unknown_it_should_not_crash(self, client):
+        response = client.get(
+            "/ipam/api/",
+            follow=True,
+            data={
+                "net_type": "all",
+                "within": "192.168.42.0/24",
+                "show_all": "True",
+            },
+        )
+        assert response.status_code == 200