FBI warning issued for new account takeover fraud schemes

marketing14560
Nov 28
2 min read

Updated: 6 days ago

The FBI issued a warning this week. Over $262 million has already been reported stolen from over 5,100 complaints from account takeover fraud schemes this year. But, the actual number is much higher since most cases don't get reported. The FBI is urging the public to be wary of social engineering techniques being delivered by texts, calls and emails.

The bad guys have gotten good at breaking into financial institutions, payroll platforms and health savings accounts, then they quickly drain your funds. In some cases, hackers impersonate a bank to get access to your account or will manipulate you into handing over login credentials before resetting passwords and gaining full control. In other cases, they use fear, sending texts or emails about fake charges. The messages contain spoofed links asking you to sign in to verify the charges, which gives them access to your passwords, which they use to lock you out of your accounts and start transferring your money off-shore.

The Takeaway

The FBI warning comes ahead of the holiday season where cybercriminals know billions will be spent online.

Multiple cybersecurity firms have released warnings detailing how AI will supercharge scammer campaigns, allowing them to quickly spin up tailored, polished scam sites that can impersonate legitimate brands.

For example, Fortinet reported on how they found at least 750 malicious, holiday-themed domains registered over the last three months, many using key terms like “Christmas,” “Black Friday” and “Flash Sale.” They also registered more than 2,900 malicious domains mimicking household items that would be easy to miss.

In short, this holiday shopping season, phishing will become a real-time, AI-driven numbers game. Scammers will flood your phone and inbox with personalized, adaptive lures aimed at millions of eager bargain hunters like you and me. Here's what I suggest:

If it's too good to be true, even a little good, probably fake - don't buy.
Stick with traditional boring places to buy gifts. I know, it's not as fun and there are fewer to choose from every year, but think of traditional brick and mortar retailers: Best Buy, Costco, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, etc.
If you do shop on-line, use trusted retailers such as Amazon and if you use eBay, 5-star sellers only.
Reviews, product pictures and entire ecommerce sites can be faked, quickly and easily with AI. Always check the URL and use a credit card with consumer protections on it.