The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning the public of a recent nationwide increase in “Phantom Hacker” scams, significantly impacting senior citizens.
“This Phantom Hacker scam is an evolution of more general tech support scams, layering imposter tech support, financial institutions, and government personas to enhance the trust victims place in the scammers and identify the most lucrative accounts to target.” the FBI said.
“Victims often suffer the loss of entire banking, savings, retirement, or investment accounts under the guise of “protecting” their assets.”
Between January and June 2023, 19,000 complaints related to tech support scams were submitted to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), with estimated victim losses of over $542 million. Almost 50% of the victims reported to IC3 were over 60 years old, comprising 66% of the total losses. As of August 2023, losses have already exceeded those in 2022 by 40%.
Tips to Protect Yourself
- Do not click on unsolicited pop-ups, links sent via text messages, email links, or attachments.
- Do not contact the telephone number provided in a pop-up, text, or email.
- Do not download software at the request of an unknown individual who contacted you.
- Do not allow an unknown individual who contacted you to have control of your computer.
- The US Government will never request you send money via wire transfer to foreign accounts, cryptocurrency, or gift/prepaid cards.
The FBI requests victims report these fraudulent or suspicious activities to their local FBI field office and the FBI IC3 at www.ic3.gov. Be sure to include as much information as possible.
- The name of the person or company that contacted you.
- Methods of communication used, include websites, emails, and telephone numbers.
- The bank account number(s) where the funds were wired to and the recipient’s name(s).
For additional information on similar scams, please see previous Public Service Announcements published on the FBI IC3 website.
