StealthCyber

If you are the victim of wire fraud, don’t call the police. Don’t call the FBI. Call your local Secret Service office. Immediately. I didn’t believe it either, but I talked to a guy that works for the Secret Service and he blew my mind: If the money is sent overseas, the SS can stop it within the first 72 hours. If the money remains in the US, the SS has the power to seize bank accounts and other assets without a criminal conviction. The guy I was talking to told me about a lady that stole $850K from a small business in Texas by hacking into an email account and changing wiring instructions. He froze her bank account without notifying the bank so she wouldn’t be tipped off, flew across the country, and knocked on the lady’s door. He walked in the house, took a bunch of expensive jewelry and anything else he could find of value, and let her know her bank accounts are frozen and that he’ll be seizing all the money. It took a few months for her to get convicted and go to jail, but the victim had their money back within days. It typically needs to be at least $250K for the SS to get involved, but it’s worth a try if it’s over $100K. These thresholds are way lower than what it’d take for the FBI to get involved. Local police departments can’t to much in these situations because they don’t have the authority to seize assets without a conviction. I also learned that the SS was originally started to fight financial crimes, not protect the President. The SS was started in 1865 to combat widespread counterfeiting after the Civil War and didn’t start protecting Presidents until 1901. Hope this helps someone!