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The phantom hand scam: the app the fake bank asks you to install

A fake bank employee asks you to install an app to protect your account. It is a remote-access app, and with it the scammer controls your phone. No bank asks for this.

Also called: remote access scam, phantom hand scam.

How it works

  1. The scammer calls or writes as the bank: a suspicious purchase, a hacked account.
  2. They ask you to install a support or protection app, and to pass on an access code.
  3. With the app, they see your screen, open your bank app and make transfers.

Where it usually starts: phone call, messaging app.

How it arrives on Bipe. Simulation with sample people and messages.

How to spot it

  • They ask you to install an app from outside the official store, or a remote-access app.
  • They ask you not to hang up and to follow instructions.
  • The phone starts moving on its own.

What to do

  • Hang up at once. No bank asks you to install an app.
  • Already installed? Turn off the internet, delete the app and call the bank from another phone.
  • Then reset the phone and file a police report.

How Bipe helps

Each item shows where it stands on iPhone and Android.

Scam warnings

A warning shows under a message that looks like a scam, such as a rushed Pix, a new number or a boleto. It is on by default, with nothing to set up.

iPhone: In the test app · Android: In development

Reserved names

Bank, government and Bipe names are kept for the institution's verified account.

iPhone: Coming soon · Android: Coming soon

What Bipe does not solve here

Once the app is installed, the scam happens outside the chat. The warning shows when a message asks you to install a remote-access app, but Bipe cannot stop the install.

Bipe only protects the chats that happen in Bipe. If someone in the family still uses another app, a scammer can write to them there.

Who describes this scam

Official pages with the scam's script and what to do.

Other common scams

Scams in Brazil in numbers

Where these numbers come from

Researched on 13 October 2026. We only use numbers that have a source. Surveys by a company or a private association are marked as such.