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ky3.com
A BBB study examining business scams across North America (2022-2024) found over 3,600 reported cases involving employee impersonation, data breaches, and business email compromise schemes, with data breaches alone costing companies an average of $4.9 million and totaling $1.4 billion in 2024. The research highlights common warning signs such as unsolicited outreach, unexpected invoices, urgent renewal demands, and payment requests via gift cards, and recommends businesses implement employee training, establish secure payment procedures, research unknown vendors, and deploy cybersecurity measures like multifactor authentication to protect against these schemes.
crypto.news
Michael Zidell lost $20 million in a "pig butchering" romance scam after being targeted on Facebook by a scammer posing as a woman named Carolyn Parker, who lured him into fraudulent NFT investments through fake account statements. Zidell sued Citibank for negligence, alleging the bank failed to detect and act on suspicious wire transfers—including twelve transactions totaling nearly $4 million to an account held by Guju Inc. that contradicted the account holder's declared business activity and violated Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering laws. Pig butchering scams resulted in $5.8 billion in investment fraud losses in 2024
stocktitan.net
**Summary:**
Trend Micro launched Scam Radar, a new feature in its ScamCheck app that provides real-time detection of coordinated scam tactics across SMS, websites, and messaging apps. According to Trend Micro's study of 6,632 consumers across six countries, 30% had been scam victims, with common fraud types including online shopping scams (27%) and investment fraud (22%), often with victims not realizing they were targeted until significant financial loss occurred.
trendmicro.com
This article is a product description and educational piece about Trend Micro ScamCheck, an AI-powered anti-scam tool designed to protect users from modern identity theft and fraud. The tool offers features including scam call/text blocking, deepfake detection, suspicious content analysis, and real-time alerts to help users identify and avoid scams across multiple platforms (SMS, email, social media, video calls, and websites). The piece emphasizes that scammers use increasingly sophisticated tactics and that anyone can be targeted, making dedicated anti-scam protection necessary alongside traditional antivirus software.
justice.gov
This educational resource defines elder fraud as the exploitation of adults age 60+ for monetary gain through tactics like impersonation, romance scams, and fake investment schemes, with seniors losing over $5.9 billion annually. Common scammer tactics include using fear, false hope, romance, pressure, isolation, and threats, while phishing emails often urge account verification or threaten account closure. Protection strategies include never responding to unsolicited requests for personal information, verifying website security, avoiding suspicious links, maintaining updated security software, and consulting trusted family members before sending money.
fox23maine.com
A new report from the Identity Theft Resource Center reveals that AI-powered scams are becoming more sophisticated and costly, with cybercriminals using AI to create convincing fake websites, emails, and deepfakes to impersonate trusted brands and financial institutions. While the number of identity crime reports declined, victims lost significantly more money per incident, with impersonation scams rising 148% year-over-year and nearly 1 in 4 victims targeted multiple times. The report shows a positive trend: more people are seeking prevention advice, indicating growing awareness of these threats, and individuals are encouraged to use strong passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and verify caller identity before sharing personal information.
cmadocs.org
CMS issued a warning about fraudulent fax requests falsely claiming to be Medicare audits, in which scammers impersonate CMS to trick healthcare providers into releasing medical records. CMS clarified that it does not initiate audits via fax and advised providers to verify all audit requests through Noridian and report suspicious communications to CMS.
dfpi.ca.gov
Scammers increasingly target older adults by impersonating legitimate organizations or trusted contacts and directing victims to deposit cash into crypto ATMs, where funds are transferred irreversibly to the scammers' digital wallets. The fraudsters create artificial urgency through claims of emergencies or frozen accounts, often remaining on the phone to guide victims through transactions and directing them via QR codes to scan at the machines. Victims can protect themselves by verifying requests through official channels, resisting urgency, and remembering that no legitimate organization requests crypto ATM deposits.
mansfieldnewsjournal.com
Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber warns that phishing scams and other internet fraud schemes continue to cost Ohio taxpayers significant amounts, with fraudsters constantly developing new tactics to steal personal information. The auditor emphasizes that these scams are widespread and nearly unavoidable in modern life, urging residents not to fall victim to these evolving schemes.
khou.com
Darlington Akporugo, 47, and Jasmin Sood, 37, from Fulshear, Texas, were sentenced to 188 and 121 months in federal prison, respectively, for operating a romance scam that defrauded over 25 elderly victims out of $3.1 million between 2015 and 2022. The couple used fake social media profiles and online dating sites to pose as widowers and military personnel, gaining victims' trust before coercing them to send money for fake business investments or personal expenses, while using the funds for luxury vehicles and mansions. Both defendants must pay full restitution and serve three years of
newsfilecorp.com
Senior Scam Alerts, a new free weekly newsletter launched in June 2025, aims to educate older Americans about fraud prevention through coverage of scam types, detection methods, and reporting procedures. According to FBI data, seniors aged 60+ lost nearly $4.9 billion to scams in 2024—a 43% increase from the previous year with an average loss of $83,000 per victim—prompting this educational initiative drawing from trusted sources like the FBI and Department of Justice.
theglobeandmail.com
Senior Scam Alerts, a free weekly newsletter, launched in June 2025 to educate older Americans about fraud prevention following a crisis year in which Americans aged 60+ lost nearly $4.9 billion to scams in 2024—a 43% increase from the prior year with average losses exceeding $83,000 per victim. The newsletter covers various scam types including health insurance fraud, pig butchering, smishing, and grandparent scams, providing prevention tips, real-life case studies, and reporting resources drawn from trusted sources like the FBI and Department of Justice.
mtdemocrat.com
The FBI reports that elder fraud losses reached $4.885 billion across 147,127 complaints in 2024, representing a 46% increase in complaints and 43% increase in losses from 2023, with California accounting for $832.7 million of those losses. Seniors are frequently targeted through investment scams, technical support schemes, romance scams, and money mule operations because they are perceived as trusting, financially stable, and less likely to report crimes. The FBI recommends seniors verify unsolicited contact through independent research, resist pressure to act quickly, avoid sharing personal information with unverified sources, and report suspected fraud to law enforcement immediately.
kiro7.com
Scammers impersonating U.S. federal agencies (SSA, FDIC, IRS) are sending fraudulent letters, emails, texts, and pop-ups to Washington residents claiming identity theft or legal issues and demanding cash or gold payments. In early 2025 alone, scammers stole over $1 million from three Clallam County residents, with victims also identified in Jefferson County and Oregon. Red flags include unsolicited government contact via pop-ups or text, requests for cash withdrawals or gold purchases, demands to sign NDAs, and instructions to use unofficial couriers—none of which legitimate federal agencies would do.
aol.com
This educational article identifies five red flags that warn seniors they may be targeted for scams, emphasizing that older adults lose nearly $5 billion annually and are targeted because they hold roughly half of U.S. wealth. The first two red flags discussed are feeling panicked (as in grandparent scams demanding immediate bail) and pressure to make fast decisions (such as investment opportunities or fake retail websites), with experts advising victims to slow down, create mental space, and independently verify claims rather than acting immediately.
yahoo.com
Seniors lost nearly $5 billion to scams last year and remain prime targets due to their concentrated wealth, according to the FBI. The article identifies five red flags indicating a potential scam: feeling panicked, pressure to make fast decisions, unsolicited contact, requests for personal information, and reluctance to verify claims—noting that scammers rely on emotional manipulation and time pressure to override victims' judgment. Experts advise pausing to think critically when experiencing these warning signs, as scammers count on immediate reactions rather than careful consideration.
local.aarp.org
Over 180 Utahns attended a Scam Jam event presented by AARP Utah and the FBI to learn fraud prevention strategies, as Utah residents had lost more than $15.4 million to fraud in 2025, with $12 million of that from people aged 50 and older. The event featured FBI officials, state consumer protection leaders, and media experts who shared real victim stories, including a text scam and a romance scam that cost one woman $90,000, while emphasizing prevention tactics such as scrutinizing email addresses for typos and reporting fraud quickly to authorities.
amac.us
This educational resource presents a chart detailing common scams targeting consumers, including AI scams (deepfake impersonations), bank text scams (phishing for account information), billing/invoice scams (fake invoices demanding payment), brushing scams (unsolicited items to boost reviews), and charity scams. The guide identifies shared scammer tactics such as impersonation, creating urgency, and pressuring victims to share personal information, while offering specific identification and prevention strategies for each scam type. The material encourages sharing this information with friends and family as a primary defense against fraud.
huffpost.com
According to the FBI's annual internet crime report, seniors lost nearly $5 billion to scams last year and are disproportionately targeted by scammers who view them as wealthy, not feeble-minded. The article identifies two major red flags for potential scams: feeling panicked and experiencing pressure to make fast decisions, and recommends that seniors slow down, create mental space to think, and independently verify claims before acting. Various protective services and apps have been developed to help seniors guard against financial exploitation.
pa.gov
Pennsylvania state agencies warned residents about a fake inheritance scam targeting older adults, in which scammers impersonated Commonwealth employees via spoofed emails claiming a distant relative had left money and demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars in upfront fees to release the funds. Officials stressed that legitimate Pennsylvania agencies use @pa.gov email addresses, will not demand quick action or secrecy, and urged residents to verify requests with trusted contacts before responding.
theguardian.com
A Chinese student in London was sentenced to over a year in prison for using a portable "SMS blaster" device to send fraudulent text messages to tens of thousands of people between March 22-27, 2025. The device tricks mobile phones into connecting to a fake 2G network, allowing criminals to bypass anti-spam measures and send convincing phishing messages impersonating legitimate organizations like HMRC. Security experts recommend disabling 2G on Android devices and filtering unknown contacts on iPhones, while users can report suspicious texts to 7726 for investigation.
infosecurity-magazine.com
Impersonation scams surged 148% year-over-year from April 2024 to March 2025, now accounting for 34% of all identity crimes reported to the Identity Theft Resource Center, with businesses (51%) and financial institutions (21%) as primary targets. AI tools are enabling cybercriminals to scale campaigns more effectively through fake websites, phishing emails, and fraudulent ads, though the ITRC notes that overall reported identity crimes declined 31% while the percentage of victims reporting multiple incidents increased from 15% to 24%. The organization warns that fewer reports likely reflect underreporting rather than fewer actual crimes, and that criminals are increasingly using AI to democratize
wgme.com
AI-powered scams are increasing in sophistication and financial impact, with the Identity Theft Resource Center reporting fewer overall identity crime reports but significantly higher losses per victim. Impersonation scams rose 148% year-over-year, with criminals using AI to create convincing fake websites, emails, and messages impersonating banks and businesses, while also targeting victims through employment fraud and Google Voice scams. The positive trend is growing public awareness, with more people seeking prevention advice before becoming victims.
shreveportbossieradvocate.com
Louisiana residents lose millions annually to identity theft, with the state ranking eighth nationally at 350 cases per 100,000 residents, costing nearly $47 million in fraud losses in 2023. Common methods include database breaches, phishing, malware, and dumpster diving, though experts recommend setting up fraud alerts, credit freezes, and responding quickly to suspicious activity to prevent theft, particularly during peak spending seasons like summer travel. AARP Louisiana and Georges Media Group are partnering on a June 26 town hall to educate residents about local scams and fraud prevention strategies.
tcsheriff.org
Travis County Sheriff's Office warns residents about phone scams impersonating law enforcement and financial institutions to demand immediate payment via untraceable methods like cryptocurrency, wire transfers, and gift cards. Common scams include jury duty fines, grandchild-in-jail schemes, and fake bank fraud alerts that trick victims into withdrawing money or providing personal information. Residents should never send money over the phone to unknown callers and should independently verify requests by contacting official agencies directly rather than calling back spoofed numbers.
aol.com
A Philadelphia man lost over $1 million in two consecutive scams orchestrated by a fraudster posing as "Daisy" from Apple customer support. The scam began when he called a fake Apple support number, and evolved from a customer service fraud (where he was tricked into buying gift cards) into a romance scam that built trust over months of daily communication, ultimately resulting in him handing over $780,000 in precious metals to a money mule. The article warns consumers to watch for red flags including fake customer support numbers, lookalike websites, unsolicited contact, and suspicious requests for money or assets.
bisinfotech.com
AI-powered romance scams have become increasingly sophisticated, using deepfake videos, voice cloning, and emotionally intelligent chatbots to create convincing fake identities that exploit victims' psychological need for connection. India has experienced a 300% rise in online romance scams between 2022 and 2024, with victims losing an estimated ₹270 crore in 2024 alone, predominantly affecting educated urban professionals aged 25-40. These scams are particularly effective because the AI technology is now scalable, automated, and difficult to distinguish from genuine interactions, making even tech-savvy users vulnerable to emotional and financial exploitation.
hindustantimes.com
This educational article identifies eight prevalent online scams in 2025, including phishing, verification malware, impersonation, fake job offers, holiday delivery fraud, donation scams, romance scams, and fake police calls. The article advises readers to watch for red flags such as urgency in messaging, requests for sensitive information (OTPs, passwords), unsolicited job offers asking for upfront payment, suspicious links, and emotional manipulation tactics. Key protection strategies include verifying sender identity through official channels, avoiding clicking links in unsolicited messages, never running commands from unknown websites, and being skeptical of legitimate-seeming requests from companies or government agencies.
the420.in
A newlywed couple in Pune lost ₹1.6 lakh to a sophisticated phishing scam after the groom clicked a link in a fake SMS claiming to be from a courier service about wedding gift delivery, which redirected him to a counterfeit website designed to steal his banking credentials. The scammers exploited the couple's emotional and logistical distractions during their wedding period, using a fraudulent domain name and interface that closely mirrored legitimate courier platforms. An FIR has been filed with Pune Police Cyber Crime Cell, and authorities have issued warnings urging citizens to avoid clicking unsolicited links requesting personal or financial information.
beincrypto.com
Trezor warned users of a phishing scam that exploited an HTML vulnerability in its support emails, allowing criminals to modify legitimate support responses with fake phishing links to compromise cryptocurrency wallets. The attack leveraged previously stolen user data and technical exploits being sold on the dark web for $10,000, though it remains unclear if any users were actually compromised. The incident highlights growing threats to hardware wallet users and the importance of vigilance against social engineering attacks in the cryptocurrency space.
foxnews.com
Modern scams increasingly use AI voice cloning, fake bank alerts, cryptocurrency schemes, gold bar frauds, and pet emergencies to deceive victims out of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Notable cases include a man who lost $25,000 to an AI voice clone impersonating his son, another who lost $300,000 to a fake bank freeze scam, and a retiree defrauded of $3.1 million in a gold bar scheme. Protective measures include verifying caller identity through direct contact, accessing bank accounts independently rather than through provided links, avoiding investment opportunities from social media strangers, and recognizing that legitimate law enforcement does not request money transfers or asset convers
3newsnow.com
Reports of AI-enabled scams surged 456 percent between May 2024 and April 2025, with predicted generative AI-driven fraud losses in the US potentially exceeding $40 billion by 2027. Dr. Victor Winter, a computer science expert at the University of Nebraska Omaha, explains that AI now enables attackers to conduct sophisticated, personalized phishing attacks at scale—including voice duplication and deepfake videos—making scams harder to detect. Key protective measures include never clicking links or responding to calls without independently confirming the sender's identity, and using "safe words" or personal information that AI cannot access to verify legitimate contacts.
sg.finance.yahoo.com
While reported U.S. losses to online and phone scams reached over $50 billion in 2023, actual losses may exceed $100 billion when accounting for the 80-90% of incidents that go unreported. WhatSpam, an AI-powered app launched in 2025, aims to protect Americans by blocking spam and scam calls, texts, and emails before they reach users, using artificial intelligence to counter increasingly sophisticated AI-generated scams while maintaining user privacy by storing data locally on devices.
clickorlando.com
Cindy Burns of Winter Springs, Florida, lost $15,000 to scammers who impersonated bank and Apple employees through a text message phishing scheme, ultimately convincing her to convert the money to Bitcoin. The Federal Trade Commission reported Americans lost $12.8 billion to fraud last year, with imposter scams ranking third; experts emphasize that social engineering exploits trust and manipulation to compromise personal information. To protect yourself, independently verify suspicious account alerts by calling official numbers directly, never provide information to unsolicited callers, and immediately recognize cryptocurrency conversion requests as likely scams.
techradar.com
In 2025, scammers are expected to leverage AI-driven tactics to conduct increasingly sophisticated fraud, building on the $1.03 trillion stolen in 2024. The article identifies five emerging scams including AI-powered robocalls with cloned voices, SIM swap attacks targeting two-factor authentication weaknesses, and OTP bot attacks, while noting common warning signs such as unsolicited urgent communications, requests for money transfers or app downloads, and suspicious video or audio inconsistencies. Consumers are advised to recognize these red flags and use enhanced security tools to protect themselves against evolving fraud schemes.
techradar.com
Scam robocalls have declined 75% since fall 2021, but financial losses have increased significantly—rising from $692 million in 2021 to $948 million in 2024, with median losses per victim climbing from $1,200 to $1,500. Scammers have become far more efficient by using curated victim lists obtained from data breaches and the dark web, targeting specific customers with convincing impersonation rather than making indiscriminate calls. The article advises individuals to assume their personal information is already exposed and practice skepticism toward unexpected calls by using call-blocking technology and verifying callers through legitimate institutional contact numbers.
jambroadcasting.com
The Dietert Center in Kerrville is offering free scam awareness seminars this week, including an Elder Fraud/Exploitation Seminar on June 24 presented by Texas Partners Bank covering how to identify legitimate bank alerts versus scams, and a Scam Awareness Presentation on June 26 by Kerrville Police Department addressing phishing and other criminal scamming tactics. These educational sessions aim to help community members protect themselves from fraud and exploitation.
liherald.com
Nearly 25 seniors at General Douglas MacArthur Village in Hempstead attended a scam awareness workshop presented by the Office of Crime Victim Advocate on June 9, where they learned to recognize and avoid common fraud schemes including romance scams, identity theft, deed theft, and "grandparent scams." The training, which covered tactics like phishing and bogus official calls that create artificial urgency, statistically reduces victimization risk by 80 percent according to studies. The New Greater Hempstead Chamber of Commerce Committee on Aging continues to provide resources and will host another awareness workshop in September.
blog.knowbe4.com
According to the FTC's October 2024 report, Americans lost an estimated $158.3 billion to scams in 2023 (approximately $433 million daily), with roughly 21 million U.S. citizens successfully scammed annually after adjusting for significant under-reporting. The top scams include investment fraud (often initiated through fake text messages leading to cryptocurrency schemes), fake job postings on legitimate employment sites, romance scams enhanced by AI deepfakes, tech support scams impersonating major tech companies, and fake vendor schemes.
nationthailand.com
Thai authorities issued an urgent alert about a new wave of AI-powered voice-cloning scams targeting Thai citizens, where fraudsters use artificial intelligence to mimic the voices of family members, friends, or bosses and demand urgent money transfers by fabricating crises such as accidents or legal troubles. The government emphasized that victims should verify all information before transferring money and report suspected fraud through the Cyber Police hotline (1441) or dedicated website. This scam represents an escalation of existing threats like phishing and romance scams, with the AI technology making it significantly more difficult for victims to detect the deception in the moment.
theguardian.com
Scammers are creating fake Facebook profiles posing as family members to share fraudulent links to virtual funeral livestreams or donation pages, charging victims £10 or requesting donations that never provide access to genuine services. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute reports this scam has circulated for two years across the UK and Ireland, targeting high-profile deaths and exploiting grieving individuals who often don't report the fraud due to embarrassment or concern for the bereaved family. Legitimate funeral directors never charge for livestreaming, and victims should verify any links directly with the funeral director or family before providing payment or personal information.
ktar.com
This article identifies five prevalent scams currently targeting consumers: AI voice cloning (where scammers impersonate trusted individuals to request money, exemplified by a victim who lost $25,000), fake bank account freezes (one victim lost over $300,000), cryptocurrency investment schemes promoted through social media (a Georgia couple lost $800,000), gold bar scams impersonating law enforcement or banks (a 72-year-old lost $3.1 million), and pet emergency scams. The article provides protective measures for each scam type, emphasizing verification through direct contact, avoiding unsolicited links, skepticism of social media strangers, awareness that legitimate authorities don't request asset conversion
tech.yahoo.com
Cybercriminals are using sponsored Google ads and a technique called "search parameter injection" to display fake customer support numbers on legitimate websites for major brands including Netflix, Microsoft, Bank of America, PayPal, Apple, Facebook, and HP. When victims call these fraudulent numbers, scammers impersonate company representatives to steal personal data, financial information, or gain remote access to computers. Malwarebytes reports that malvertising incidents in the US increased 41% between July and September 2024, with an estimated 90% of scammers operating from South and Southeast Asian countries.
au.pcmag.com
Cybercriminals are using paid search ads and a technique called "search parameter injection" to redirect customers of major brands like Bank of America, Netflix, Microsoft, PayPal, and Apple to legitimate-looking websites where fraudulent support numbers are displayed in the search bar, tricking users into calling scammers who then attempt to steal personal data, financial information, or remote computer access. Malwarebytes reports a 41% increase in such "malvertising" scams in the US between July and September 2024, with an estimated 90% of perpetrators operating from South and Southeast Asian countries. Users can protect themselves by watching for red flags including urgent language, pre-populated text in
techradar.com
The FBI has warned of a new SMS phishing scam targeting US drivers with fake text messages claiming unpaid toll fees are owed, directing recipients to malicious links designed to steal credit card and personal information. The scam mimics Department of Motor Vehicles communications and uses urgent language and threats of legal action to pressure victims into clicking links before they notice red flags like generic greetings, typos, fake sender addresses, and non-existent government agencies. Users are advised to delete suspicious messages immediately, avoid clicking unknown links, and report scams to the FTC or FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
newslj.com
This compilation of scam alerts documents multiple phishing and fraud schemes targeting individuals and organizations: a DocuSign phishing scam redirects victims to a Canva site potentially hosting malware like ScreenConnect; a "phantom payment" email uses hidden text to disguise phishing attempts; a fake "healthcare award" scam impersonates selection for professional programs to solicit video calls; and the University of Wyoming reported voicemail phishing emails with deceptive subject lines and non-audio file attachments. The alerts emphasize that mobile scams are increasingly prevalent, with half of US and UK mobile users encountering scams daily, and advise users to verify sender addresses, avoid clicking
ktvz.com
In 2023, Americans lost an estimated $1.14 billion to romance scams, with the FBI reporting 17,910 complaints totaling $672 million in 2024 alone. Romance scammers build fake online relationships on social media and dating platforms to manipulate victims into sending money, gifts, or sensitive information, using emotional manipulation ("love bombing") and moving conversations to private messaging apps to avoid detection. These scams disproportionately affect lonely, grieving, or trusting individuals, and victims experience lasting emotional and financial trauma beyond the immediate monetary loss.
mashable.com
A compilation of 16 billion exposed passwords made headlines as a historic data breach, but the records were aggregated from multiple previous breaches rather than resulting from a single new hack, making it a "greatest hits" collection of stolen credentials from various sources including phishing scams and malware. While no recent single breach occurred, the consolidation of this data in one location increases risks for phishing scams and identity theft. The article recommends users check Have I Been Pwned to identify compromised accounts, change passwords immediately, and enable multi-factor authentication on all accounts.
dentonrc.com
This educational article presents a quiz-format overview of common elder fraud schemes and prevention strategies, based on insights from a Texas Elder Justice Coalition summit. Key scams covered include romance/pig butchering scams, tech support fraud, impersonation scams using AI, fake lottery schemes, and caregiver theft, with recommendations including reporting to IC3.gov, using family code words, and recognizing warning signs like secretive apps and unusual bank activity.
watfordobserver.co.uk
A Watford resident lost £70,000 in a fake job recruitment scam where fraudsters posing as legitimate recruiters convinced victims to complete tasks via an app, then demanded payment equal to earnings before releasing funds. Seven residents across Hertfordshire were scammed in June 2024, totaling £200,000 in losses. Police advise caution with unsolicited job offers via messaging apps and social media, noting that legitimate recruiters never request upfront fees or deposits.