A scientist scammed out of her retirement fund by cyber criminals felt ‘shot in the head’ after learning that the Federal Government is also making a fortune from victims of the booming industry.

Frances Sharples lost $665,000 to fraudsters who invaded her computer with a pop-up message while she was playing Spelling Bee.

She has now been hit with a $100,000 tax bill on top because Congress axed a law in 2018 designed to protect victims of fraud.