Greg's Corner

What is the phantom hacker scam?

By Greg Collier

FBI offices across the country are warning citizens about a new scam that’s said to be plaguing Americans. The scam is called the ‘phantom hacker’ scam and is bears a striking similarity to the pop-up tech support scam.

If you’ll recall, in the pop-up scam, internet users can receive a pop-up on their device that claims the device has been hacked, This pop-up will also claim to be from a big tech company like Microsoft or Apple, and will include a phone number for the device’s owner to call for tech support. The phone number actually goes to a call center that’s part of a larger scam ring.

The user will be asked to give remote access to the supposed tech support person. After a scan, the scammers will tell the user, the user’s bank account has been hacked. The tech support scammer then tells the user, they’ll be receiving a call from their bank’s fraud department. The victim will then be directed to mover their money to a ‘safe’ account for protection. That safe account is actually a bank account that belongs to the scammers.

Now, the scam has been modified. After receiving a call from the scammers posing as the bank, victims are instructed to move their money to a government protected bank account. To make the scam appear more legitimate, victims have been receiving correspondence that appears to come from the Federal Government. The correspondence provides instructions to the victim on how to move their money to the government protected account by wire transfer.

The reason it’s called the phantom hacker scam is because there is no actual hacker involved. If someone were to hack into someone’s bank account, the account would be drained instantly. There is no time-limit that hackers have to wait for before stealing someone’s money or data.

To better protect yourself from this kind of scam, educate yourself and others about the common signs of pop-up scams, such as unsolicited pop-ups or alarming messages, and never share personal or financial information with unknown sources. By following these precautions and maintaining a healthy dose of skepticism online, you can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to pop-up scams and protect your digital security.