Phantom hacker scams, also known as phantom scams, have surged in recent years.
These are elaborate frauds in which criminals convince victims their money or computer has been compromised by a hacker. The scammer then pushes the victim to move their savings into a supposedly "safe" account, which is in fact controlled by the criminals themselves.
The rise of artificial intelligence, online banking and social media has fuelled the trend — more ways to pay and receive money mean more entry points for scammers to exploit.
How phantom hacker scams work
Some of the most common phantom hacker scams work in a few stages. The first one is tech support.
