PHOENIX — The FBI Phoenix is giving new details about a scam that has resulted in several Arizonans losing their life savings. It's known as the "Phantom Hacker" scam and officials say it's very sophisticated.
“The problem is, they target the elderly," the Assistant Special Agent in Charge with FBI Phoenix Daniel Mayo said. “There's a serious human element to this. We need to address that.”
Mayo said with this scheme, the scammers typically work in groups so victims hear multiple voices alleging to be from several different legitimate institutions, ranging from banks to computer companies.
"They might have a group of individuals and what I would call a call center that you would think of, right? And they're using a variety of methods. They're calling people, they're using email addresses they may have gotten on the dark web," Mayo said.
How does the scam work?
The scheme typically starts with a pop-up message saying your computer has been compromised. The message urges the user to call a phone number. In many cases, it has looked like a message from Microsoft.
Then, before you know it, you're talking to an imposter claiming to be a customer support representative.
“They then ask for access to your computer. Once they get access to your computer, they look through and say, 'Hey, listen, we need to pull up your financial accounts. We think there might actually be some, you know, illicit transactions on there that you didn't approve,'" Mayo said.
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Once they watch you access your bank accounts, they've struck gold.
“Then an individual claiming to be from the bank you just looked at on your account ends up reaching out and saying, 'Hey, listen, your account's been compromised,'" Mayo described.
The team of scammers ultimately directs you to drain your most lucrative accounts and deposit the cash into an alleged "safe wallet", typically a crypto ATM. It's unregulated nature makes it harder for federal investigators to track, though they can.
“The longer you wait in the cyber world to take action and report it, the more worse off of a chance it is that we can help you," Mayo said. "But we dig down in there. We help work with the victim to ensure that we're identifying these individuals via court orders and things like that to track them down. The unfortunate thing here is that a lot of these guys hide overseas and outside of the United States as jurisdiction.”
"Is there a particular part of the world where you've seen these scammers primarily coming from or calling from?” asked 12News reporter Bianca Buono.
“It's not any particular part of the world, but I will tell you this. Think of countries that have been adversaries of the United States recently. The Russians. That's a place where they feel as though they can hide with a little bit of impunity," Mayo said. "A lot of places they choose to operate (is) because they're beyond the reach of the U.S. government in a country that's not exactly friendly to the United States. The People's Republic of China's government is not friendly to the United States and they hide in places like that as well.”
"How often are folks getting their money back?" Buono asked.
“I don't have an actual success rate, but I can tell you this. We are extremely effective, at least two-thirds or three-quarters of the time. We're going to help you get your money back if you report it early, say, within a day or two of the transaction," Mayo said.
Tips to avoid becoming a victim
Though scammers are staying ahead of trends in technology, there are ways you can protect yourself from falling victim.
Don't answer calls from unknown numbers and don't click on emails you were not expecting.
Here are additional tips from the FBI:
- First, don’t click on unsolicited computer pop-ups or links you receive via text messages or links in emails or email attachments.
- Next, if one of these pop-ups, text messages, or emails asks you to dial a phone number, don't do it.
- Third, if someone you don’t know contacts you and asks you to download software—no matter who they say they work for—don't do it.
- Fourth, never hand over control of your computer to someone you don't know.
- Finally, remember that the U.S. government will never ask you to wire money to a foreign account, nor will it ask you to send anyone money in the form of cryptocurrency or gift cards. If someone claims to be a government employee and asks you to do this, they're an impostor.
“It's 2024, right? Cold calls are very uncommon," Mayo said. "Don't pick up the phone. They leave a voicemail. I think you do exactly what I would do. I'm not gonna call the number that's in a voicemail. If they say, I'm gonna make this up, let's say they're from, insert bank here, right? Call your bank. Ask them, 'Hey, listen, is this a problem? Is this something that's going on with me?' If they say they're from an IT support thing or claiming to be from a bank, call the bank again. I don't pick up unknown calls and I would encourage individuals not to do that.”
Most importantly, talk to your friends and family to share this information.
“New generations have grown up to the point where by the time they’re talking, they’re surrounded by phones, right? The older generations are not as much. And they’re the most likely to be scammed by these individuals," Mayo said. "I would look to the younger individuals in our country to make sure they're taking care of their relatives and letting them know about this because this is a serious threat."
How to file a complaint
The most important thing to do if you believe you've fallen victim to a scam is to report it right away at www.IC3.gov. As soon as a report is made there, the FBI gets the information and can launch an investigation.
The quicker you report it, the more likely you are to get your money back.
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