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. The scammers then instruct 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 is now fully controlled by the scammers. Some victims are losing their entire life savings.

The FBI has observed repeated behavior by criminals involved in “The Phantom Hacker” scam. The ruse is often perpetrated in three major steps:

During Cybersecurity Awareness month, we are sharing some ideas to consider to limit your risk.

1. Share less online- not just social media.  Be mindful of the forms you fill out on websites (avoid inserting optional information like your phone number and middle name), create a throwaway email address for subscriptions (this is how your info could be sold on the dark web), avoid shared playlists, folders, or albums (they could get hacked), and protect your wi-fi password (your router handles sensitive information like your passwords and financial info).