“The Phantom Hacker” 2023.10.3……【Gov】【U.S.】FBI San Francisco Warns Public of New Financial Scam, Victims Are Tricked Into Thinking Their Financial Accounts Have Been Hacked, and Scammers Are Stealing Their Life Savings
➤【美国】“幽灵黑客”：旧金山联邦调查局警告公众警惕新的金融骗局
受害者被欺骗，认为他们的财务账户已被黑客入侵，诈骗者正在窃取他们的毕生积蓄
旧金山——旧金山联邦调查局警告公众警惕一种被称为“幽灵黑客”的新骗局。诈骗者冒充技术、银行和政府官员，采用复杂的诡计，让老年受害者相信外国黑客已渗透到他们的财务账户。然后，诈骗者指示受害者立即将资金转移到所谓的美国政府账户，以“保护”他们的资产。事实上，从来不存在任何外国黑客，而且这些钱现在完全被骗子控制了。一些受害者正在失去毕生积蓄。
“这些骗子冷酷且精于算计。他们的目标是我们社区中的老年成员，他们特别注意自己的储蓄的潜在风险。犯罪分子利用受害者的注意力来对付他们，”特工罗伯特·K·特里普说。“通过向公众宣传这一令人震惊的新骗局，我们希望能够领先于这些骗子，防止进一步受害。”
“幽灵黑客”骗局：如何运作
美国联邦调查局（FBI）观察到参与“幽灵黑客”骗局的犯罪分子屡屡发生行为。这种诡计通常分为三个主要步骤：
第 1 步 – 技术支持冒名顶替者
第一步，诈骗者冒充合法科技公司的客户支持代表，通过电话、短信、电子邮件或计算机上的弹出窗口与受害者联系，并指示受害者拨打一个号码寻求“帮助”。 ”。
一旦受害者拨打该电话号码，诈骗者就会指示受害者下载软件程序，从而允许诈骗者远程访问受害者的计算机。诈骗者假装对受害者的计算机进行病毒扫描，并谎称受害者的计算机已经被黑客攻击或面临被黑客攻击的风险。
接下来，诈骗者要求受害者打开他们的金融账户，以确定是否存在任何未经授权的收费——这是一种让诈骗者确定哪个金融账户最有利可图的策略。诈骗者告知受害者，他们将接到该金融机构欺诈部门的电话，并提供进一步指示。
第 2 步 – 金融机构冒名顶替者
第二步，诈骗者冒充上述金融机构（例如银行或经纪公司）的代表联系受害者。诈骗者错误地告知受害者，他们的计算机和财务账户已被外国黑客访问，受害者必须将资金转移到“安全”的第三方账户，例如美联储或其他美国政府机构的账户。
受害者被指示通过电汇、现金或电汇兑换成加密货币的方式将资金转移给海外收款人。受害者还被告知不要告诉任何人他们转移资金的真正原因。诈骗者可能会指示受害者在几天或几个月内发送多笔交易。
步骤 3 – 美国政府冒名顶替者
第三步，冒充美联储或其他美国政府机构的诈骗者可能会联系受害者。如果受害者产生怀疑，诈骗者可能会发送一封电子邮件或一封看似美国政府官方信头的信件，以使诈骗合法化。骗子会继续强调受害者的资金“不安全”，必须将其转移到新的“别名”账户以进行保护，直到受害者承认为止。
受害者常常以“保护”资产为幌子，遭受整个银行、储蓄、退休和投资账户的损失。
FBI 建议公众采取以下措施来保护自己免受“幽灵黑客”骗局的侵害：
请勿点击未经请求的弹出窗口、通过短信发送的链接、电子邮件链接或附件。
请勿联系弹出窗口、短信或电子邮件中提供的电话号码。
请勿应与您联系的未知人员的请求下载软件。
不要让与您联系的未知人员控制您的计算机。
美国政府绝不会要求您通过电汇、加密货币或礼品/预付卡向他们汇款。

FBI San Francisco
San Francisco Media Office
media.sf@fbi.gov

October 3, 2023
“The Phantom Hacker”: FBI San Francisco Warns Public of New Financial Scam
Victims Are Tricked Into Thinking Their Financial Accounts Have Been Hacked, and Scammers Are Stealing Their Life Savings

SAN FRANCISCO—FBI San Francisco is warning the public of a new scam dubbed “The Phantom Hacker.” Scammers are impersonating technology, banking, and government officials in a complex ruse to convince an elderly 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.

“These scammers are cold and calculated. They are targeting older members of our community who are particularly mindful of potential risks to their nest eggs. The criminals are using the victims’ own attentiveness against them,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. “By educating the public about this alarming new scam, we hope to get ahead of these scammers and prevent any further victimization.”

“The Phantom Hacker” Scam: How It Works

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

Step 1 – Tech Support Imposter

In the first step, a scammer posing as a customer support representative from a legitimate technology company initiates contact with the victim through a phone call, text, email, or a popup window on their computer and instructs the victim to call a number for “assistance.”

Once the victim calls the phone number, a scammer directs the victim to download a software program allowing the scammer remote access to the victim’s computer. The scammer pretends to run a virus scan on the victim’s computer and falsely claims the victim’s computer either has been or is at risk of being hacked.

Next, the scammer requests the victim open their financial accounts to determine whether there have been any unauthorized charges – a tactic to allow the scammer to determine which financial account is most lucrative for targeting. The scammer informs the victim they will receive a call from that financial institution’s fraud department with further instructions.

Step 2 – Financial Institution Imposter

In the second step, a scammer, posing as a representative of the financial institution mentioned above, such as a bank or a brokerage firm, contacts the victim. The scammer falsely informs the victim their computer and financial accounts have been accessed by a foreign hacker and the victim must move their money to a “safe” third-party account, such as an account with the Federal Reserve or another U.S. Government agency.

The victim is directed to transfer money via a wire transfer, cash, or wire conversion to cryptocurrency, often directly to overseas recipients. The victim is also told not to inform anyone of the real reason they are moving their money. The scammer may instruct the victim to send multiple transactions over a span of days or months.

Step 3 – U.S. Government Imposter

In the third step, the victim may be contacted by a scammer posing as the Federal Reserve or another U.S. Government agency. If the victim becomes suspicious, the scammer may send an email or a letter on what appears to be official U.S. Government letterhead to legitimize the scam. The scammer will continue to emphasize the victim’s funds are “unsafe” and they must be moved to a new “alias” account for protection until the victim concedes.

Victims often suffer the loss of entire banking, savings, retirement, and investment accounts under the guise of “protecting” their assets.

Tips to Protect Yourself

• The FBI recommends that the public take the following steps to protect themselves from “The Phantom Hacker” scam:
• Do not click on unsolicited pop-ups, links sent via text messages, email links, or attachments.
• Do not contact the telephone number provided in a pop-up, text, or email.
• Do not download software at the request of an unknown individual who contacted you.
• Do not allow an unknown individual who contacted you to have control of your computer.
• The U.S. Government will never request you send money to them via wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift/prepaid cards.

Reporting Suspected Fraud

The FBI requests victims report these fraudulent or suspicious activities to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov. Be sure to include as much information as possible, such as:

• The name of the person or company that contacted you.
• Methods of communication used, to include websites, emails, and telephone numbers.
• The bank account number where the funds were wired to and the recipient’s name(s).

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FBI警告 小心這種新詐騙 3步掏空你的帳戶

美國聯邦調查局（FBI）近日發布公告，提醒廣大民眾小心「幽靈駭客」（phantom hacker）騙局。這是最新的一種假冒技術人員、美國政府人員，騙取銀行存款的騙局，三步就能掏空受害人所有銀行存款或退休金。

FBI表示，這種騙局套路從以往的「技術支持」類騙局演變而來，過程更加複雜。騙子通過假裝技術支持人員、銀行職員以及政府官員，分三步套取民眾信任，並能查出受害人存款最多的銀行、退休金以及投資帳戶，將錢騙走。今年1月至6月間，美國境內有超近2萬起類似詐騙的舉報。預計受害人共損失高達5億4200萬元。超過一半的受害人為60歲以上人士。

這種騙局套路分為三步：第一步，騙子假裝是某大公司的技術客服人員，通過電話、手機短信、電子郵件或電腦彈跳窗口聯繫受害人，稱其帳戶有漏洞，需打電話來尋求技術幫助；當受害人打電話過去，騙子會讓受害人下載一個軟件，該軟件實際可以讓騙子遠程控制受害人的電腦；接著，受害人在騙子的指示下，將存款帳戶一一打開，理由是檢查是否有可疑付款紀錄；最後，騙子告知受害人，將接到銀行反欺詐部門工作人員電話，對其做更多指導。

第二步，假裝成銀行工作人員的騙子謊稱受害人的帳戶被黑客攻擊，需要將裡面的資金轉移至「安全的第三方帳戶」，例如聯邦儲備帳戶或其他美國政府部門帳戶；在騙子的指示下，受害人實際將錢最終電匯到了海外帳戶。他們可能分多次匯款，長達幾天甚至幾個月；騙子還指示受害人不要告訴任何人匯錢的真實原因。

第三步，受害人還有可能收到來自聯邦政府官員的信件或電子郵件。當然，這些都是騙子偽裝而成的。為了讓信件看起來更真實，上面往往印有政府徽章、標示；接著，這些「政府人員」會一再強調，給受害人「洗腦」稱他們的帳戶資金不安全，直到受害人相信他們的話。

為了避免成為該類騙局的受害人，FBI建議民眾：不要點擊任何不明來源的彈跳窗口，不要點擊任何來源不明的短信、電郵中的超鏈接或附件；不要聯繫任何彈跳窗口、短信、電郵中電話號碼；不要下載任何陌生人指示的軟件；不要讓任何不明人士操控你的電腦。

政府部門從來沒有也絕對不會要求民眾將財產電匯至海外帳戶。

民眾如遇到詐騙或疑似詐騙，可以向FBI地方辦公室舉報，或到其網路犯罪舉報中心（Internet Crime Complaint Center，簡稱IC3）舉報，網址為：https://www.ic3.gov/