Beware: “Phantom Hacker” Scams on the Rise, Warns FBI

The FBI is sounding the alarm on a surge in “phantom hacker” scams targeting individuals, particularly seniors, and conning them into draining their bank accounts. This scam is a modern twist on the age-old tech support scam, where victims receive pop-ups, emails, or text messages claiming their computers were hacked. However, in reality, their systems were never compromised; the messages were designed to frighten them.

Tech support scams have been bilking unsuspecting victims for years, persuading them to contact a supposed customer support agent who promises to fix their computer in exchange for payment or remote access. These scams have resulted in staggering financial losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Now, the FBI has observed new variations of tech support scams. Fraudsters are not limited to posing as IT support personnel; they also impersonate bank representatives or government officials to gain victims’ trust.

For instance, in one variant, scammers pretend to be bank representatives, falsely claiming that a foreign hacker has taken control of the victim’s account. They then coerce the victim into transferring their money to a supposed secure third-party account, such as one with the Federal Reserve or another US government agency. It’s a ploy to trick the victim into wiring their funds to the fraudster.

The FBI reports that these schemes are successfully duping many older internet users. For the first half of this year, the agency received 19,000 complaints related to tech support scams, with estimated losses exceeding $542 million. Alarmingly, nearly half of the victims were over 60 years old, accounting for 66% of the total losses.

To combat these scams, the FBI urges consumers to disregard emails, texts, and pop-ups claiming computer compromise, emphasizing that the US government would never request money via wire transfer to foreign accounts, cryptocurrency, or gift/prepaid cards. Victims of these scams are encouraged to report their losses on the FBI’s website. Stay vigilant and protect yourself from these deceptive “phantom hacker” scams.