The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued an urgent alert on November 25, 2025. The warning addressed a dangerous new scam, and the FBI urged users of iPhones and other devices to be aware of the potential risk to their financial security that the scam presents.

The FBI issued the alert because there has been a shocking rise in people targeted by this crime during the course of the year, and iPhone users need to pay careful attention to the alert because scammers are unfortunately targeting people most often via phone.

The scam makes victims vulnerable to having their financial accounts taken over. It has, unfortunately, caused millions in losses. 

The FBI’s urgent warning is aimed at helping people avoid losing their own funds to criminals. Here’s what the FBI is warning about, along with some details on how you can protect yourself from being tricked by scammers. 

The FBI has shared a warning about an iPhone scam.

Shutterstock

FBI issues urgent warning about phone scam

The FBI alert states that the agency is warning of “cyber criminals impersonating financial institutions to steal money or information in Account Takeover (ATO) fraud schemes.”

These cyber criminals are targeting individuals, businesses, and organizations of all sizes across all sectors. And, once they are can successfully trick a victim, they can cause tremendous damage. according to the FBI.

Related: Utility providers share blunt warning on ‘aggressive’ $10K+ scam

“In ATO fraud, cyber criminals gain unauthorized access to the targeted online financial institution, payroll, or health savings account, with the goal of stealing money or information for personal gain. Since January 2025, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received more than 5,100 complaints reporting ATO fraud, with losses exceeding $262 million,” the warning read. 

How does the scam work?

The cyber criminal calls you, or sends an email or text, and impersonates the staff of your financial institution. They often pretend to be customer support staff or technical support personnel, according to the FBI alert,

Once they have you on the phone, the criminal typically claims that there are fraudulent transactions on the account or that the account has been used to make fraudulent purchases, including firearms.  The criminal explains that the solution is to go to a phishing website to “report the fraud,” or stop additional fake transactions, or to talk with a second scammer who is impersonating law enforcement. 

Related: Apple iPhone users risk privacy loss, phone loss in new scam

The phishing site or the fake law enforcement officer collects the account information of the victim, including login credentials and two-factor authentication codes. 

After collecting this information, thieves get control of the accounts and move money out – often to cryptocurrency wallets, which makes the money impossible to recover or to trace.

How can you protect yourself?

The FBI has offered some tips on protecting yourself, including:

• Be careful about details that you share on social media, including things like your pet’s name, birthday, date of birth, and information about your family members. Sharing this information allows criminals to use your personal details to trick you into giving your login credentials or allows criminals to answer your security questions. 
• Monitor your accounts regularly to watch for irregular transactions. Take action quickly if you spot any transfers or withdrawals you don’t recognize.
• Set up two-factor authentication on all of your accounts, do not disable this security measure, and never give out your two-factor authentication codes
• Stay vigilant against phishing by avoiding giving any information to unknown callers or clicking on unknown website links
• Bookmark the websites of your financial institutions and visit them directly so you never click on a third-party link. 

Since these scammers are largely targeting people via phone, it’s also a good idea to avoid picking up the phone at all when an unfamiliar number calls.

More Personal Finance:

• Suze Orman’s 5 best pieces of financial advice
• Dave Ramsey shares key insight on mortgage rates
• Jean Chatzky makes key statement as Social Security change looms

If a call comes in from someone claiming to be from your financial institution, hang up and call back the bank directly from a number you find on the bank’s website or on the back of your ATM cards.