This Money Transfer Scam Fooled a Financial Advice Columnist

If you get an unsolicited call or email urging you to move your savings to a different account in order to "protect" it, don't. This is a form of impersonation scam-preying on fear-that has you hand your money directly to fraudsters in the name of security.

Victims of this scam have lost significant sums of money. Federal Trade Commission data show that the number of older adults who have lost more than $10,000 to this type of scheme increased four-fold between 2020 and 2024, while the number who lost more than $100,000 increased eight-fold in the same time period.

Reporting from the Detroit Free Press found an 18-year-old who transferred $4,800 to bank impersonators, who sent him a fake fraud alert email and convinced him to move his money from his checking account to an Apple Cash account to "protect" it. Another target lost $17,500 to someone impersonating her credit union, who convinced her to transfer funds to an account at poker[dot]com. And in February, The Cut's own financial advice columnist published a piece describing how she handed $50,000 over to scammers pretending to be from the CIA under an elaborate guise of securing funds amid an identity theft investigation.

How the money transfer scam works

According to the FTC, there are three main ways scammers try to convince you to move your money. The first is a ruse that there is suspicious activity on your account. In these cases, they may impersonate your bank or a company you do business with, such as Amazon.

The second lie-a variation of which fooled The Cut's columnist-is that your information is being used to commit a serious crime, like drug smuggling or money laundering. Fraudsters may impersonate government officials. Some scammers even pretend to be from the FTC, the very agency that tracks and alerts consumers to said scams.

Finally, this scam can be tied into phishing attempts involving compromised device security. You may get an alert on your computer that appears to be from Apple or Microsoft with a number to call. Once you're on the phone, scammers will tell you that your account has been hacked.

How to protect yourself from this scam

As with all scams, major red flags are unsolicited communication (via email, text, phone, social media, you name it) with an urgent-sounding message and a call to action. Bad actors attempt to elicit strong emotions, such as the fear that your money could be stolen or that you could be prosecuted for a crime, to get you to do what they want. Communication involving money and account security are especially common in scams.

You should also be wary of anyone claiming to represent a government agency, financial institution, or well-known company. It's safe to say that none of these organizations will contact you out of the blue to threaten you or demand money, account credentials, or any other sensitive information. If someone does, hang up or ignore the message and reach out to the organization directly by going to the app or website using a trusted URL (type it into your browser, as search results can be spoofed) and the contact information found there.

Finally, never move money to "protect it," no matter who the person on the other end says they are.