Online Account Takeovers

Imagine getting a message from a friend asking if you want to support a local cause, receiving an official-looking notice from a financial institution about a compromised account, or simply making an online purchase from a trusted business. What do these situations have in common? The answer: They could all be account takeover scams.

DATCP receives many reports from consumers whose online accounts have been taken over by a “hacker” or scammer. Losing access to a social media or email account can be alarming and frustrating, and it can even threaten the income of some consumers who depend on these tools for their business or work. Losing access to a financial account could be a disaster, resulting in identity theft that can take a lot of time and money to recover from.

Recently, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) issued a warning about account takeover fraud after receiving more than 5,100 complaints in 2025 with reported losses exceeding $262 million. They report that scammers often impersonate financial institutions to trick consumers into providing login details, personal information, and access to their finances.

Scammers can gain access to a user’s online account through several methods:

· Phishing attacks

· Social engineering

· Malware

· Data breaches

After gaining access to a user’s account, a scammer might use it to:

· Steal the owner’s personal or financial information, or transfer money from the owner’s account to the scammer

· Scam or blackmail the account owner

· Scam other social media users. These include the account owner’s friends and family, members of groups they’re in, or even strangers.

· Gain access to other accounts the owner has, like email, social media, loans, or bank accounts

To protect against account takeover fraud, consumers should:

· Be careful when sharing information online, including seemingly minor details like a pet’s name, past schools attended, or family members’ names.

· Monitor financial accounts regularly, and follow up with financial institutions immediately if irregularities are spotted.

· Use Bookmarks or Favorites to navigate to commonly used websites, or type in the web address directly while taking care to avoid typos.