Insidious “phantom Hacker” scam is coming to WA.

This scam has been going on for a while but it's so elaborate compared to other scams that it's worth mentioning. It's also worth mentioning because so far, since 2024, senior citizens have been scammed out of almost a billion dollars 

It's called the “Phantom Hacker” scam. 

According to msn.com, 
‘Could a phone call wash away decades of savings? For thousands of older Americans, the answer has been a sorrowful yes. The FBI is alerting the public to the “Phantom Hacker” scam’ 

The “phantom hacker” scam is a little more complex than your average Internet scam where they're phishing for your personal information to sell online. This scam has three distinct. Operations in order to get your money. 

First, you are contacted by a fictitious tech support person claiming to be from a reputable company, it could be an e-mail, a text or a phone call. They ask you to give them access to your computer so that they can check your financials for suspicious charges. 

At this point, the scammer is deciding which of your accounts to empty. 

Then your fake tech support person tells you to wait for a call from the bank's fraud department. when you're contacted by the fake fraud department you are told that a foreign hacker got into your account, and they recommend that you transfer that money to a Safe third-party account. 

Finally, they tell you the process is simple. You can wire your money, send cash, or even use cryptocurrency to transfer your funds. They say it's very important to keep this whole process secret because they don't want to alert the bad guys to what you're doing. This process can take a few days or up to a month or two. 

Another variation of this scam is for somebody to contact you claiming that they are from the Federal Reserve and they're advising you that your money might be at risk. They will use very formal sounding letters or other types of messages like voicemail or e-mail, and they very strongly suggest that you protect yourself. “You should send your money to an “alias” account”. But of course, it's all fake, and by the time you realize what you've done, your money is gone. 

What makes this process even more insidious is that bad guys are now using AI to scan social media looking for triggers that will make you believe that they are legitimate. The advent of AI for scammers makes things even more difficult to detect.  

They are specifically targeting older Americans. People that are less tech savvy, more trusting of individuals and are financially secure. 

You need to protect yourself by limiting the amount of personal information you place on social media. If somebody contacts you saying they're from a large, trusted company that you've never had business with and starts asking for personal information, just hang up the phone.  

It seems like not a day goes by that I don't receive at least one text that to me is obviously a phishing scam. 

Be careful, protect yourself. Don't get scammed by these weasels.
FBI Reveals AI-Driven Scam Draining Seniors’ Life Savings