https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/business/tech-support-scam-bank-fraud.html
Tech Support Scammers Stole $85,000 From Him. His Bank Declined to Refund Him.
A retired lawyer lost the money in a tech support scam, a type of online fraud that is surging. Citibank said it couldn’t recover the funds, which criminals wired from inside his account.
By Tara Siegel Bernard, The New York Times, Dec. 12, 2025
…
Cybercrime has become a global, industrialized operation that captures billions of dollars from Americans every year. Con artists create sophisticated schemes by exploiting basic tech — planting malicious ads bought from search engines or social media companies, buying phone lines and sending deceptive text messages from VoIP providers and more.
Then they do their best to slide through the banking system undetected with their ill-gotten gains. If they can move money from a customer’s own account and devices, it’s far less likely to set off any alarm bells…
But instead of dialing Microsoft to help Mr. Welles connect his email, the phone number he found on Google put him in touch with cybercriminals…
Mr. Welles downloaded remote access software, both on his iPhone and his laptop, allowing the scammer to burrow deep inside of his devices, where he stored his username and passwords on his hard drive…
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After @intercst suffered a fraudulent transfer from his Vanguard account I put blocks onto all my Fidelity accounts. I arranged to get a text whenever my credit card is charged by any amount.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has lots of advice on protecting yourself from fraud and scams.
The worst are the tech support scammers since they get into the guts of the machine. A friend had $20,000 stolen that way.
Be careful!
Wendy