Ghost Scams: How Victims are Convinced to Empty Their Accounts
Scammers pose as technicians, bankers or authorities to convince victims to transfer savings to accounts controlled by criminals. Digi24 explains the mechanism and how to protect yourself.
Fraud in Three Acts: How "Ghost" Scams Work
Digi24 reports that "ghost hacker" scams have multiplied significantly in recent years, citing Euronews. The mechanism is elaborate: victims are convinced, step by step, to transfer their own savings to accounts controlled by criminals, under the pretence that their money or devices have been compromised.
The development of artificial intelligence, online banking services and social networks has amplified the phenomenon. The more ways there are to send and receive money, the more access points scammers have available to exploit.
Stage 1: False Technical Assistance
It typically begins with a pop-up window, a message or a call warning that your device or computer is infected with a virus. When you call the number provided, a person claiming to work for a technical assistance service asks you to install a remote access programme on your device.
Stage 2: False Banking Alert
A second person contacts you and informs you that someone is trying to break into your bank accounts. Scammers can falsify the information displayed by the caller ID, so that the number appears legitimate. You are told that you must act immediately and log into your account to check your balance — except that, at that moment, the scammers already have remote access to your device and can intercept your data in real time.
Stage 3: False Representative of Authorities
A third person calls claiming to represent a government institution or law enforcement agency. They pressure the victim to move their money to a supposedly "safe" account or to convert it into cryptocurrency or gold bars, supposedly to protect it.
In some variants of the fraud, victims are asked to download an application that would supposedly speed up transfers. In reality, the application gives the scammers direct access to the account, allowing them to steal savings — sometimes, lifetime savings.
The basic tactic remains almost always the same: creating a sense of urgency and pushing the victim to act under the pressure of panic.
How to Protect Yourself
According to TEG Federal Credit Union, cited by Digi24, the best defence is never to believe unsolicited calls, messages or pop-up windows claiming that there is a problem with your bank account or your computer. At the first sign of alarm, close immediately.
Do not install programmes or applications for remote access at the request of someone who has contacted you out of the blue. If you suspect a fraud attempt, call your bank directly, using the number displayed on the official website or on the back of your card.
No legitimate bank, technology company or government institution will ever ask you to move your savings to a "safe" account, nor to buy gold or cryptocurrency.
Ghost Debts: A Second Type of Fraud
Unlike "ghost hacker" scams, "ghost debts" — also known as "zombie debts" — aim to convince victims to pay fictional or already settled debts.
Whilst in the past such attempts were based on poorly written emails or unconvincing telephone calls, scammers today resort to large language models (LLM) to draft threats with a legal appearance, perfectly adapted to the local language and context.
The supposed debts may actually be already paid, settled following a bankruptcy procedure or artificially inflated by unscrupulous operators. Scammers pose as debt collectors and use aggressive language, false threats of arrest or other forms of intimidation to force the victim to pay immediately.
The explanations are intentionally confusing, meant to justify why a debt that the victim knew had been settled should still be paid. Elderly people are targeted particularly by such methods.
Scammers also use automated agents based on artificial intelligence to collect public information, build a profile of a potential victim and use audio recordings to clone voices, claiming to be representatives of the police, other authorities or banks. Victims are sometimes asked for payments in cryptocurrency or bank transfers to settle these supposed debts.
What You Can Do if You are Targeted
As with "ghost hacker" scams, the recommendation is to close the call immediately, secure your personal information and block any potential payments.
You can request a debt validation letter — a document that legitimate debt collectors are obliged to provide in many jurisdictions. Fraud attempts can also be blocked and reported to the relevant authorities.
Source: Digi24