The Phantom Hacker Scam -- Everything you need to know

When the FBI warns people about the scam, this is serious, but this is actually just a variation of the scam that perpetrated upon the Asian community for a while. 

To make a long story short... 

Stage 0 

Beware when you are contacted via some method, text message, pop-up on your computer, a direct phone call, supposedly from a company that you had patronized before (a national brand, like Amazon, Best Buy, Uber, and so on). Those companies usually do NOT contact you directly, but these imposters will. Anyway, the message claims you need to call them right away to mitigate any damage. 

Stage 1

When you call, the imposter will ask you to download some program so they can control your computer from afar, in order to show you some supposed "evidence" that either have been hacked or will soon be hacked, ask about your bank, and claim your bank's fraud department will be contacting you shortly. This is of course, another imposter. 

Stage 2

"Your bank's fraud department" (not really) then calls, and basically "verifies" the previous imposter's claim that you've been "hacked" or will be hacked, and you need to transfer the money to some "safe" account operated by some special government program, often the "Federal Reserve" and will get it back soon. The transfer can be done by wire transfer, cash transfer (Venmo, etc), Western Union, or even cryptocurrency transfer. The imposter than will initiate stage 3, claiming the "Federal Agent" will be in touch. 

Stage 3

"Federal Agent" who allegedly operates the safe harbor program for your money will then call, and will often present a fake receipt with fake title or stationery, to close the transfer. You will send it money via the agreed method, whether it be wire transfer, crypto, gift cards, or Venmo (and similar) methods.  

End Result

You never see your money again

Since you initiated those transfer yourself, your bank will likely NOT reimburse you for any losses. 

Namesake

Since there was no real hacker threat, this scam became known as the "phantom hacker scam". 

Origins

This is a variation of a common scam from China against Chinese ex-pats. Scammers reach Chinese victims on WeChat or other platforms, including SMS and phone, convincing victims that they're being investigated by Chinese Public Security (i.e. Chinese police) and victims are implicated in some sort of money laundering scheme, and unless the victims transfer the account's content into a "monitored account" they will be considered accessories to the laundering. Of course, their money was never seen again. 

Protect Yourself

Do NOT click on pop-ups, links, or attachments you are not sure about, even if it sounds urgent

Do NOT call phone numbers provided in such uncertain links either

Do NOT download something just because someone over the phone told you to

Do NOT allow some Internet rando control your computer

US Government will NOT ask you to send it money via wire transfer, crypto, or gift cards...