The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning of a new scam that is emptying bank accounts.
The scam involves a sophisticated attack known as spoofing. Here’s how it works: Scammers impersonate trustworthy callers, like law enforcement or a banking institution, by mimicking their phone numbers. ABC7 first reported the newsand noted that this is a growing problem with some 191,000 spoofing incidents reported in 2025 alone. Reported losses totaled more than $215 million, according to the news outlet.
Typically, callers who are imitating a reputable phone number will call a victim pretending to be a banking official or even the FBI. The scammers will typically inform a potential victim that their assets are in danger, creating confusion, and then rush the victim to move funds into different accounts or send the money through services like Zelle.
“They are already frazzled, and when they are making these decisions, the criminal then starts to rush them more. The more they are rushed, the more decision-making they make last-minute,” special agent Robert Richardson from the FBI Chicago Field Office told ABC7.
Often, criminals can add legitimacy to their claims by using sensitive data found on the dark web, or through more primitive methods like digging through trash. Some of the victims, interviewed by ABC7, said the callers had their account numbers, routing numbers, account balance and even transaction information.
ABC7 reported that victims had been scammed by individuals impersonating Chase Bank, Huntington Bank, and even the FBI itself.
Chase representatives urged consumers in a statement to “ignore phone, text, or internet requests to move money or gain access to their computer or bank accounts. Banks and legitimate companies won’t make these requests, but scammers will.”
