Deepak Gupta

Brand and service impersonation · Also called three-phase scam, Federal Reserve scam, tech support to bank to government scam

Phantom hacker scam

The phantom hacker scam is a three-stage con in which a fake tech support agent, then a fake bank employee, then a fake government official convince you that hackers are after your savings. Each stage builds trust, until you move your money to a supposedly safe government account the scammers control.

How it works

A fake tech support agent says your computer has been hacked, gets remote access, and asks you to check your financial accounts.
A second scammer poses as your bank or brokerage and says foreign hackers have compromised your accounts.
They tell you to move the money by wire, cash, or cryptocurrency to a safe account, often held overseas.
A third scammer posing as a government employee, such as someone from the Federal Reserve, uses official-looking letters to insist the money is still unsafe and must move again.

Red flags

A tech support call leads to questions about your bank and investment balances.
Someone from your bank, then someone from the government, contacts you about the same hacking problem.
You are told to move savings to a safe or protection account, or to hand over cash or gold.
You are told to keep the matter secret, even from your bank or family.

If you are targeted

Stop contact: hang up and do not move or send any more money.
Call your bank on a number you know is real and tell it what happened.
If you gave remote access, disconnect the device, remove the software, and change your passwords.
Report it. Our Report a scam page lists where to report in your country, such as ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US.

Where to report, by country

Prevention

For individuals

Know that the FBI says the US government will never ask you to send money by wire to foreign accounts, cryptocurrency, or gift cards.
Never download software or give control of your computer to someone who contacted you.
Talk to someone you trust before moving savings, whatever reason a caller gives.

For organisations

Banks and brokerages can slow and question large withdrawals, wires, or cash requests from older customers who seem to be following a caller's instructions.
Banks can tell customers that neither they nor the government will ask them to move money to a protection account.

By the numbers

Figures are for the reporting category this scam falls under, not this scam alone.

Tech and customer support scam losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025

$2.13B

US, 2025, FBI IC3

Real cases

No documented case in the atlas yet. New cases are added as they are sourced.

Delivered through: Voice phishing (vishing), Malvertising and SEO poisoning

How official datasets classify it

FBI IC3: Tech/Customer Support
FTC: Tech Support Scams
Scamwatch: Account or identity takeover scams

Questions

What is a phantom hacker scam?: It is the FBI's name for a scam in which fake tech support, fake bank staff, and fake government officials take turns convincing a victim that hackers are after their money, until the victim moves it to an account the scammers control.
Would the government ask me to move money to protect it?: No. The FTC says someone who works for the government will never say you must transfer your money to protect it.