FBI: $262M Lost to ATO Fraud as AI Phishing Escalates
🔐 The FBI warns that cybercriminals impersonating banks and payment services have caused over $262 million in losses this year through account takeover (ATO) fraud and more than 5,100 complaints. Attackers use phishing, SEO poisoning, calls and SMS to harvest credentials and MFA/OTP codes, then transfer funds to intermediary accounts and convert proceeds to cryptocurrency. The advisory highlights growing use of AI-generated phishing and holiday-themed scams and urges vigilance, unique passwords, URL checks and stronger authentication.
