CLEVELAND — The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Cleveland is warning about a new kind of financial scam. Although it may sound like a bad science fiction movie or a musical, there's nothing entertaining about "The Phantom Hacker."
According to FBI Cleveland, scammers are impersonating technology, banking, and government officials "in a complex ruse to convince a typically older victim that foreign hackers have infiltrated their financial account."
Once they've gotten the victim's attention, "The Phantom Hacker" then instructs the victim to immediately move their money to an alleged U.S. Government account to “protect” their assets. In reality, there was never any foreign hacker, and the money becomes fully controlled by the scammers.
Some victims are losing their entire life savings.
“These scammers are cold and calculated. They are targeting older members of our communities in Northern Ohio and across the nation, who are particularly mindful of potential risks to their life savings. The criminals are using the victims’ own attentiveness against them,” said FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen. “By educating the public about this alarming new scam, we hope to get ahead of these scammers and prevent any further victimization.”
How "The Phantom Hacker" strikes:
The FBI says it has observed repeated behavior by criminals involved in “The Phantom Hacker” scam, which is often perpetrated in three major steps:
Tech Supporter Imposter
In the first step, a scammer posing as customer support representative from a legitimate technology company initiates contact with the victim through a phone call, text, email, or a pop up window on their computer and instructs the victim to call a number for “assistance.”
Once the victim calls the phone number, a scammer directs the victim to download a software program allowing the scammer remote access to the victim’s computer. The scammer pretends to run a virus scan on the victim’s computer and falsely claims the victim’s computer either has been or is at risk of being hacked.
Next, the scammer requests the victim open their financial accounts to determine whether there have been any unauthorized charges a tactic to allow the scammer to determine which financial account is most lucrative for targeting. The scammer informs the victim they will receive a call from that financial institution’s fraud department with further instructions.
Financial Institution Imposter
In the second step, a scammer, posing as a representative of the financial institution mentioned above, such as a bank or a brokerage firm, contacts the victim. The scammer falsely informs the victim their computer and financial accounts have been accessed by a foreign hacker and the victim must move their money to a “safe” third party account, such as an account with the Federal Reserve or another U.S. Government agency.
The victim is directed to transfer money via a wire transfer, cash, or wire conversion to cryptocurrency, often directly to overseas recipients. The victim is also told not to inform anyone of the real reason they are moving their money. The scammer may instruct the victim to send multiple transactions over a span of days or months.
U.S. Government Imposter
In the third step, the victim may be contacted by a scammer posing as the Federal Reserve or another U.S. Government agency. If the victim becomes suspicious, the scammer may send an email or a letter on what appears to be official U.S. Government letterhead to legitimize the scam. The scammer will continue to emphasize the victim’s funds are “unsafe” and they must be moved to a new “alias” account for protection until the victim concedes.
Victims often suffer the loss of entire banking, savings, retirement, and investment accounts savings, retirement, and investment accounts under the guise of “protecting” their assets under the guise of “protecting” their assets.
The FBI has put together this list of tips to protect yourself from "The Phantom Hacker":
- Do not click on unsolicited pop ups, links sent via text messages, or 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 i ndividual who contacted you to have control of your computer.
- The US Government will never request you send money to them via wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift/prepaid cards.
If you believe you are a victim of the "The Phantom Hacker," report these fraudulent or suspicious activities to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov. Be sure to include as much information as possible, including:
- The name of the person or company that contacted you.
- Methods of communication used, to include websites , emails, and telephone
- The bank account number where the funds were wired to and the recipient’s name(s).