The New York State Attorney General’s Office is warning the public to be cautious after seeing a surge in cases of “phantom hackers,” a new type of financial scam targeting seniors’ retirement accounts. According to the New York State Attorney General, “phantom hacker” scams typically involve three stages: technical support, financial institutions, and federal government agencies.
The scammers first contact seniors, call them, and tell them that their online accounts linked to their computers have been hacked. They then send text messages or emails with contact information for customer support. If the victim contacts them, the scammer attempts to access the victim’s personal information by urging them to install a remote program to recover from hacking on their computer.
During the installation process, the scammer makes a separate phone call impersonating a financial institution or federal government agency to present a convincing case, recommending a secure transfer from the victim’s financial account to another bank or using cryptocurrency. Through this process, the scammer extorts money from the victim either once or repeatedly.
According to the State Prosecutor’s Office, the total damage caused by this method has reached $1 billion since 2024. The State Prosecutor’s Office has issued the following warnings to prevent related fraud: Do not click on online links received via text message or email; Never grant remote access to your computer to anyone you don’t know; and If someone contacts you about a problem with your bank account, do not respond and instead contact your financial institution.