bleepingcomputer[.]com/news/security/fbi-warns-of-surge-in-phantom-hacker-scams-impacting-elderly/
"This Phantom Hacker scam is an evolution of more general tech support scams, layering imposter tech support, financial institution, and government personas to enhance the trust victims place in the scammers and identify the most lucrative accounts to target," the FBI said."Victims often suffer the loss of entire banking, savings, retirement, or investment accounts under the guise of 'protecting' their assets."
In such scams, multiple fraudsters masquerading as bank representatives are contacting unsuspecting victims, falsely alleging that their accounts have fallen victim to hacking attempts.
Subsequently, these scammers employ various tactics to persuade their targets to grant access to their banking accounts, assessing whether they possess significant funds warranting further pursuit.
Should the victims' account balance make them valuable targets, they receive instructions to await a call from their bank—a second scammer involved in the scheme—advising them to transfer their funds to what is claimed to be a 'secure' account under the control of the fraudsters.
In instances where targets prove resistant to manipulation, a third contact is made by an imposter posing as a representative of the U.S. government who makes a final attempt to persuade the victims, urging them to safeguard their finances by moving their funds to a 'safe' account.
"Between January and June 2023, 19,000 complaints related to tech support scams were submitted to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), with estimated victim losses of over $542 million," the FBI added.