Scam
Meta launches new anti-scam tools for WhatsApp and Messenger
Meta has announced new tools to help WhatsApp and Messenger users protect themselves from potential scams and secure their accounts. On Messenger, the company has started testing more advanced scam-detection for suspicious chats that will warn users when a new contact sends a potentially scammy message, giving them the option to send recent messages for AI scam […]
U.S. sanctions cyber scammers who stole billions from Americans
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned several large networks of cyber scam operations in Southeast Asia, which stole over $10 billion from Americans last year. These operations, mainly those in Burma and Cambodia, are notorious for using forced labor, human trafficking, and physical violence, essentially operating as modern slavery farms that conduct online fraud. The […]
Perplexity’s Comet AI browser tricked into buying fake items online
A study looking into agentic AI browsers has found that these emerging tools are vulnerable to both new and old schemes that could make them interact with malicious pages and prompts. Agentic AI browsers can autonomously browse, shop, and manage various online tasks (like handling email, booking tickets, filing forms, or controlling accounts). Perplexity’s Comet is currently […]
Over $300 million in cybercrime crypto seized in anti-fraud effort
More than $300 million worth of cryptocurrency linked to cybercrime and fraud schemes has been frozen due to two separate initiatives involving law enforcement and private companies. One initiative is the T3+ Global Collaborator Program launched by the T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU), a joint effort deployed almost a year ago by intelligence firm TRM […]
‘Chairmen’ of $100 million scam operation extradited to US
The U.S. Department of Justice charged four Ghanaian nationals for their roles in a massive fraud ring linked to the theft of over $100 million in romance scams and business email compromise attacks. The defendants were allegedly high-ranking members of a major international fraud ring based in Ghana that targeted companies and individuals across the United States […]
FTC: older adults lost record $700 million to scammers in 2024
Americans aged 60 and older lost a staggering $700 million to online scams in 2024, marking a sharp rise in fraud targeting seniors, according to the Federal Trade Commission. This figure, presented in the agency’s latest Consumer Protection Data Spotlight, represents an increase over all three categories of loss compared to previous years. Most notably, the […]
WhatsApp adds new security feature to protect against scams
WhatsApp is introducing a new security feature that will help users spot potential scams when they are being added to a group chat by someone not in their contact list. This feature displays a “safety overview” context card that includes information about the group’s creation date, the number of members, potential scam attempts, and instructions […]
DuckDuckGo beefs up scam defense to block fake stores, crypto sites
The DuckDuckGo web browser has expanded its built-in Scam Blocker tool to protect against a broader range of online scams, including fake e-commerce, cryptocurrency exchanges, and “scareware” sites. DuckDuckGo is a privacy-focused web browser and search engine that doesn’t track users’ searchers or browsing history. The browser, which became available as a public beta for macOS and Windows in […]
Instagram ‘BMO’ ads use AI deepfakes to scam banking customers
Instagram ads impersonating financial institutions like Bank of Montreal (BMO) and EQ Bank (Equitable Bank) are being used to target Canadian consumers with phishing scams and investment fraud. Some ads use AI-powered deepfake videos in an attempt to collect your personal information, while others use official branding to drive traffic outside of the platform to lookalike illicit […]
Five plead guilty to laundering $36 million stolen in investment scams
Five men from China, the United States, and Turkey pleaded guilty to their involvement in an international crime ring and laundering nearly $37 million stolen from U.S. victims in cryptocurrency investment scams carried out from Cambodia. Accomplices living abroad reached out to targets in the United States via unsolicited social media, phone calls, text messages, […]