A hair stylist in Chicago recently lost $20,000 due to an escalating scheme. She had plans to open her own business this year, but everything changed when she received a phone call from a man who claimed to be a representative of Bank of America.
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The FBI is warning people about the ‘Phantom Hacker’ which is a growing scam that involves individuals posing as bank staff calling their victims and asking them to transfer their money, to protect it from impending hacking attacks on their account.
Milan Jackson who is going through a separation, has two children and was planning to buy a building this year to expand her hair business, became the latest victim to the Phantom Hacker.
While working one day, Jackson received a call from who she thought was a representative from Bank of America, that warned her of a hacker trying to steal her money. She was then told to transfer $20,000 to another account so it won’t get stolen.
After doing as told, Jackson started to feel uneasy about what just transpired. “I get this weird feeling, and so I go into Bank of America, and they confirm that this is a scam. I shut the phone off. I’m hysterically crying,” Jackson said. “People who do this to other people, you don’t know what’s in somebody’s life.”
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Bank of America told ABC News that in cases like this, they attempt to get the money back, but there is no guarantee the bank will be able to recover the funds once their client authorizes the transfer.
Bank of America said it will never call and ask a client to send money through Zelle or a wire transfer.
