Phantom Hacker Scam Threatens Michigan Elderly & Their Life Savings

Hackers and scammers are some of the biggest dangers we have in our world today. They are always lurking amongst us and looking to take advantage of hard working and vulnerable individuals instead of working for it themselves. Scams come in all different forms and happen all over the world, staying aware and diligent can keep yourself, your finances, and your personal information safe.

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Scammers and hackers have tried just about every method known to man but somehow, they always find a new way to wiggle in people's lives. We have seen scammers use door-to-door, phishing emails, phishing texts, scam calls, and many other methods over the last couple years. All of them worked for some time and then were eventually shut down.

Another scam has become popular and has taken advantage of many individuals across the country; some have even lost their entire life savings. The National Cybersecurity Alliance has warned Michigan residents, especially the elderly of a new scam they are calling the Phantom Hacker.

Have You Received Any Weird Alerts Or Text Messages Recently?

WWMT via MSN reports:

First you might get a pop up or a message that will tell you there's something wrong with your bank account and it will give you a phone number to call for help.

"I have seen this happen before with relatives where it takes over the whole screen and it looks like you can't do anything about it except for call the number," Director of Information and Engagement with the National Cybersecurity Alliance Cliff Steinhauer said. You call that number and the scammer will pretend to be with IT and have you download a remote viewing software.

"They scare you into working with them and giving them access to your computer," Steinhauer said. The scammers will then tell you hackers have gotten access to your bank accounts so you need to set up and move it into a third party account. Because you have that remote viewing software installed they can see all your personal and financial information.

While they typically go after older adults because they are more vulnerable and often times have larger accounts, they will attack anyone. If you receive any notices or messages saying something is wrong with your device, you should shut it down and restart it.