There is a type of scam where victims are contacted by someone fraudulently posing as a popular trusted entity (e.g., Amazon, U.S. Post Office, etc.), law enforcement, or an intelligence agency that initially claims to have evidence linking the victim to a global, spy-like scam.
Initially, the victim is befuddled, clueless and scared. The caller then asks the victim to hold on as they are then passed to one or more purported national law enforcement agencies. The secondary connection supposedly reveals a larger spy-ring that is being tracked and asks for the victim’s help.
Somewhere along the way, the victim is somehow convinced to withdraw large sums of money from their personal bank accounts, 401Ks, etc. and not to tell anyone else…even their spouse…about what is going on. The “law enforcement agent” convinces them to lie to their bank and to have a cell phone’s speaker active so the scammer can hear what is going on.
The victim then hands the cash off to someone waiting on the street (usually in a car or truck who then speeds away). The victim thinks they have saved their money from either being stolen or being used by terrorists to fund terrorism.
But it is all a hoax, and the victim loses everything they have handed over. There is no chance of recovery. I have not heard of anyone conducting these scams being arrested, at least not yet.
Here are some example incidents over the last few months:
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2024/fbi-imposter-scam-victim-elder-fraud/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/29/business/retirement-savings-scams.html
- https://www.foxnews.com/media/finance-columnist-flabbergasted-fell-amazon-scam-cost-50000-savings
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2024/scam-elderly-tax-issues-victim-aid-congress/
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/scam-victims-often-feel-shame-this-support-group-helps-them-heal/ar-AA1vr0am
Critics have been quick to blame victims for falling prey to these fantastical claims. They wonder how in the world anyone could be convinced that they are suddenly involved in an international investigation, how they could just take the person’s word over the phone that they are calling from the FBI, and how someone can take tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and simply hand it to a stranger on the street.
Do not blame the victim. For whatever reason, they were a place in their life where this unexpected mysterious call was able to take root. I think we are all susceptible to scamming of some sort, it just takes the right scam message and circumstances. If you think you can never be scammed, you are at more risk of being scammed.
Defenses
There is no existing technical defense against these James Bond-style of scams. Only education and awareness will work. So, with that in mind, send this article along to anyone you might be worried about. The elderly are usually targeted because they have more available savings than a younger person, and appear to be more likely to trust someone who is calling and posing as law enforcement to be at face value.
Also, and this is anecdotal, so far, the scams I have read about have been in larger cities. Perhaps because for the final getaway, the driver needs to be able to get lost in traffic very quickly with access to many routes in order to make their escape.
Let potential victims know to have healthy skepticism for any unexpected email or call by a vendor, law enforcement or national agency person, especially if they are asking the victim to do something they have never done before.
Potential victims need to verify that the person calling them is really working for who they say they are. You MUST be able to call a publicly recognized number for that vendor or agency and confirm the person’s identity. If they tell you that you must call a particular private number to reach them, that is a potential red flag.
Anyone who asks you to lie to bank officials or keep a secret such as activating a cell phone microphone session on your body while going to the bank is for sure a thief.
I know it is hard to accept that these victims did and accepted all those “red flags.” They are ashamed of falling prey to the scam. But most of these victims would have likely avoided the scam if they were just made aware of them. Training and awareness really work to reduce human risk.
New-school Security Awareness Training is critical to enabling you and your IT staff to connect with users and help them make the right security decisions all of the time. This isn't a one and done deal, continuous training and simulated phishing are both needed to mobilize users as your last line of defense. Request your one-on-one demo of KnowBe4's security awareness training and simulated phishing platform and see how easy it can be!
