Search Scams
Scam of the day – August 3, 2026 – FTC Warns Veterans About VA Scams
Veterans should recognize that they are a frequent target of scammers and also should remember that there is no fee for applying for benefits. Whenever you get a call, email or text message, you can never be sure who is actually contacting you, but particularly if the caller represents that he or she is a VA representative and asks for a fee for providing services it is a scam.
Scam of the day – August 2, 2026 – Maine Police Warn About Increased Grandparent Scam
Recently, the Kennebunk, Maine Police Department issued a warning about an increase in the grandparent scam in which the targeted victims are receiving phone calls from scammers posing as the grandchild saying that they have been involved in a serious automobile accident and have been arrested and need money for bail.
Scam of the day – August 1, 2026 – Minnesota Bans Crypto ATMs
Earlier this year, Massachusetts became the latest state to sue a crypto ATM operator, in this case Bitcoin Depot for enabling criminals to use their machines to scam people. According to the lawsuit, more than half of the money that went through Bitcoin Depot ATMs between August 2023 and January 2025 was related to scams. Indiana and Tennessee previously banned cryptocurrency ATMs and today Minnesota’s total ban on cryptocurrency ATMs went into effect.
Scam of the day – July 31, 2026 – FTC Warns About Reloading Scam
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been warning people about this particular scam, sometimes called “reloading,” since 2016. I have been warning people about this since 2012. Scammers often compile lists of their victims with information including their names, addresses and contact information. They sell this information to other scammers who contact the victims and tell them that they are with a consumer group or government agency and that they are available to help the victim regain the money lost to the previous scam. The new scammer then asks for processing fees or other personal information, such as a Social Security number in order to proceed with the recovery effort. Of course, the recovery effort never occurs. In fact, the victim is merely victimized again, either by paying for services the victim never receives or by giving away personal information that leads to identity theft.
Scam of the day – July 30, 2026 – Shopify Phishing Email
Copied below is an email that I recently received that purports to be from Shopify, a company that helps people operate online stores, informing me that my email address (which I have removed from the notice below) was compromised. The email then instructs me to click on a link, which I have disarmed, to review my account. As typical in scams like this, they create the impression of an emergency and dire circumstances if I don’t follow through. In this case, it was easy to recognize that it is a scam since I don’t have an account with Shopify and the email address of the sender was not a Spotify email address. If I had clicked on the link, either I would have been prompted to provide personal information that would lead to identity theft or in a worst case scenario, merely clicking on the link would download dangerous malware such as keystroke logging malware or ransomware.
Scam of the day – July 29, 2026 – Facetime Scam Leading to Compromised Bank Accounts
Apple is warning people about a new scam involving its popular FaceTime app that starts with the targeted victim receiving either a text message or phone call from a scammer that purports to be from the targeted victim’s bank. Making the call or text appear more legitimate is the fact that the call appears on your Caller ID as coming from a phone number of your bank. The call or text message indicates that the targeted victim’s bank account has been accessed by scammers and is in jeopardy. The victim is then instructed to switch to FaceTime to continue the conversation to remedy the situation. Once on FaceTime, the scammer, posing as a bank official instructs the targeted victim to share their computer screen with the scammers while they log into their bank account. The scammer then is able to not only see the password for the account, but also the code used for dual factor authentication when entered by the victim. The scammer then is able to immediately access the victim’s bank account.
Scam of the day – July 28, 2026 – Your Airline Boarding Pass Can Lead to Identity Theft
Identity theft dangers are everywhere, but particularly at busy airports. People are quick to dispose of their boarding passes after they have landed by merely tossing them into a trash receptacle, but your boarding pass barcode can be easily decoded by an identity thief who retrieves your discarded boarding pass from which he can gain much information including information about your frequent flier account which can be used to make you a victim of identity theft. All an identity thief needs is a barcode scanner, which can easily be obtained online, to access a wide range of information that the airline has about you on your boarding pass including, for some airlines, your email address, phone number and more. In addition, a clever identity thief can leverage this information by posing as the airline in calling you, providing your account number and then tricking you into providing more personal information that can be used against you.
Scam of the day – July 27, 2026 – Phony Delivery Phishing Email
Today’s version of a delivery scam involves a phishing email sent by a Scamicide reader, reproduced below made to look like a tracking order which are sent in large numbers to people with the hope and expectation that people expecting a delivery will fall for the scam. If you click on the “Track my order,” “Click to review,” or “Click to view” links you will either be lured into providing personal information that will lead to identity theft or even worse, merely by clicking on the links you will download dangerous malware. I have disabled the links in the email below. If you had hovered your mouse over the links you would see that the address it would be taking you to a site that had nothing to do with any of the major delivery companies such as Federal Express or UPS.
Scam of the day – July 26, 2026 – Car Dealer Cloning Scams
Car dealer cloning is a rapidly expanding scam. It occurs when a scammer sets up a website or social media profile in which they pose as a legitimate car dealer. The website and social media posts use images and photographs of legitimate car dealers to make them look legitimate and, with the increased availability of AI to assist the scammers in setting up their phony car dealer websites and social media presence, they appear quite legitimate. On these phony sites the scammers offer tremendous discounts on cars. Generally, the scammers require the purchase price for the non-existent cars to be wired to them. Wiring funds is a favorite choice of payment of scammers because it can be difficult to reverse and is easy for the scammers to disguise their identity.
Scam of the day – July 25, 2026 – Dual Factor Authentication Scam
Recently scammers have been sending text messages that appear to come from a company with which you do business informing you that there has been suspicious activity on your account and that you need to confirm your identity or else your account will be locked. You are then told that in order to do so, you will receive a text message with a code that you should, in turn, text back as a reply to the scammer. Unfortunately, what is actually happening is that the scammer has already managed to obtain your password and has just tried to log in to your account which is protected by dual factor authentication, so if you do send the code to the scammer, you will have defeated dual factor authentication and enabled the scammer to access your account.
Scam of the day – July 24, 2026 – Chick-fil-A Credential Stuffing Data Breach
Data breaches have become an all-too-common feature of life today and they pose a significant threat to all of us because regardless of how careful we are at protecting our personal data, we are only as secure as the companies and governmental agencies that hold our information. Last year there were 3,352 major data breaches affecting more than 278 million people in the United States. It is not a matter of if you will become a victim of a data breach, but when. Recently the popular restaurant chain Chick-fil-A alerted customers in ten states that it’s loyalty accounts were victimized by a data breach that compromised customers’ names, email addresses, the last four digits of payment card numbers and other personal information. This information can readily be leveraged by criminals for scams and identity theft.
Scam of the day – July 23, 2026 – How to Keep Your Cryptocurrency Wallet Safe
Your digital wallet is where the key that allows you to access your cryptocurrency account is found. If your key falls into the hands of a hacker, you can easily lose all of your cryptocurrency account so it is of paramount importance to secure your digital wallet. Digital wallets can either be hot wallets or cold wallets. Hot wallets are connected to the Internet which makes them more susceptible to being hacked which is why a cold wallet which is not connected to the Internet, but rather is is kept in a portable hard drive is your best bet.
Scam of the day – July 22, 2026 – Summer Car Rental Scams
Despite high gas prices, many people are taking to the roads this summer. The bad news is that due to so many people wanting to rent cars there is both a shortage of cars to rent and the cost of renting a car has increased in many cases dramatically. However, your friendly neighborhood scammer is more than willing to help you out. They are using AI to set up convincing phony car rental company websites and websites that appear to be those of legitimate car rental companies such as Avis or Hertz.
Scam of the day – July 21, 2026 – Look Who Died Facebook Scam
A variation on an old Facebook scam has recently resurfaced. In the new scam you receive a Facebook Message that merely says “Look Who Died?” and is followed by a link that leads you to a website where you are prompted to provide personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft. Alternatively, merely clicking on the link, in some instances, has downloaded destructive malware to your phone, computer or tablet.
Scam of the day – July 20, 2026 – Veterans Affairs Phishing Email
Phishing emails, by which scammers and identity thieves attempt to lure you into either clicking on links contained within the email which download malware or trick you into providing personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft, are nothing new. They are a staple of identity thieves and scammers and with good reason because they work.
Scam of the day – July 19, 2026 – Phony McAfee Invoice Scam
The phony invoice scam is a common scam popular with scammers because it is quite effective. It starts when you receive an email that purports to be from a popular company with which many of us do business that indicates that you owe them a significant payment. The scammers count on people being concerned that they are being wrongfully charged for a product they did not order. You are provided a telephone number to call if you dispute the bill. If you call the number, you will be prompted to provide personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft.
Scam of the day – July 18, 2026 – Devastating Income Tax Consequences of Being Scammed
It is bad enough to be scammed, but to have to pay income taxes on money you have been scammed out of certainly adds insult to injury. Prior to 2017 if a scammer convinced you to take money out of your retirement accounts and send the funds to the scammer, you could get a theft and loss deduction to ease the sting just a bit. However, with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, the rules were changed such that you can only take a deduction under Internal Revenue Code Section 165 for your scam losses if the transaction was entered into for a profit such as when you are a victim of an investment scam. However, for imposter scams, romance scams, tech support scams and more, you are not able to deduct your losses and if you took the money out of your retirement account to pay the scammer, the results are even worse because the full amount of your withdrawal unless it was from a tax-free Roth IRA will be fully subject to income tax and if you are under the age of 59 1/2 the IRS makes it worse by adding its standard early withdrawal penalty.
Scam of the day – July 17, 2026 – Netflix Phishing Scam
The popularity of Netflix makes it a preferred subject for phishing emails sent to people appearing to come from Netflix in which you are told you need to update your credit card information or asking for other personal information. Reproduced below is a copy of an email I recently received. The email may look legitimate, but it is important to note that nowhere does your name or account number appear and it is sent from an email address that has nothing to do with Netflix. The Netflix logo appears on the email, but it is easy to counterfeit the Netflix logo and make the email appear to be legitimate when it is not. Making the scam even more laughable is that the subject line in the email read “Subcription.” Apparently the scammer is either a very bad speller or bad editor.
Scam of the day – July 16, 2026 – Apple Phishing Emails Getting Worse
Recently there has been a flood of Apple phishing emails where the subject line reads “Your Apple Account Information Has Been Updated” which is certainly an attention grabber for an Apple customer who has not done so. The email looks like a legitimate email from Apple and it informs you that your account has been used to purchase a new iPhone and provides a customer service phone number for you to call to cancel the purchase. If you call the number provided in the email a scammer posing as an Apple customer service representative will answer immediately who will ask you to confirm your account number and provide other personal information under the guise of needing to confirm your identity. The truth is that scammers want your Apple ID because it can give them access to your iCloud account, Apple Pay and stored credit cards and other services of Apple.
Free Webinar on Avoiding Scams with Steve Weisman
As many of you may know, I frequently give seminars and webinars regarding scams and how to avoid becoming a victim. Fairway SAFE is sponsoring a one hour webinar I will be giving on July 29th and I urge everyone to consider attending. Attendees will receive...
Scam of the day – July 15, 2026 – Task Job Scams Increasing
Task scams are scams in which you are solicited to do simple tasks such as liking videos or rating product images online and get paid for your efforts. Too bad it is a scam. The scammers promise that you will earn a commission on each click. The scam starts with a text message offering online work by “product boosting” or doing “optimization tasks” in an app or online platform the scammer provides. As you complete each task, the app will appear to show that you have accumulated commission earnings, but it is all a lie. After a while the scammer then asks you to deposit your own money, generally by way of cryptocurrency to complete your next set of tasks and to get your commission earnings out of the app. However, there are no earnings and once you make the payment, it is gone forever.
Scam of the day – July 14, 2026 – Netflix Phishing Email
The popularity of Netflix makes it a preferred subject for phishing emails sent to people appearing to come from Netflix in which you are told you need to update your credit card information or asking for other personal information. Reproduced below is a copy of an...
Scam of the day – July 13, 2026 – How to Tell if a Website is Legitimate
The pandemic increased the trend toward online purchases of just about everything and even after the pandemic subsided, many of us continue to make large amounts of our consumer purchases online. Scammers, of course, see this as an opportunity to scam people with phony websites that steal your money and provide you with nothing in return. Some of these phony websites are for totally made up companies that you have never heard of, but which are offering tremendous discounts on popular goods while other phony websites are counterfeit websites of legitimate online retailers.
Scam of the day – July 12, 2026 – Protecting Yourself When Shopping Online
Every year, the number of people shopping online and the money spent through online shopping grows significantly. And why not? The convenience alone of being able to shop from the comfort and privacy of your home is reason enough for many of us to shop online. But how safe is it? According to the FTC the number one reported fraud is online shopping scams. However, following some basic precautions can go a long way in protecting you from being scammed when shopping online
Scam of the day – July 11, 2026 – Amazon Prime Scams Increasing
Recently there has been an increase in the number of scams related to Amazon Prime which is not surprising since there are approximately 220 million Amazon Prime members. Scammers attempt to lure people into providing their credit card information or Amazon user name and password to the scammer posing as an Amazon employee. Typically, these scams start with an email, text message or phone call either informing the targeted victim that their membership needs to be renewed. In some instances the scammers indicate that the credit card tied to the account is no longer able to be used, threatening to suspend the Amazon Prime account unless a new credit card is provided.
Scam of the day – July 10, 2026 – Car Wrap Scams
Car wrapping is actually legitimate, which is part of the problem. Scammers exploit legitimate advertising through car wraps by either putting an ad on the Internet or contacting you through a mass email or text messages in which they seek people to have their cars used for advertising through this technique called shrink wrapping. Unsuspecting victims respond to the advertisement and are sent a check for more than the amount that the victim is to be paid for the service. The victim is instructed to deposit the check in his or her bank account and wire the rest to a company that is supposed to wrap your car. This is where the scam comes in. The check that the scammer sends you is a counterfeit. However, unfortunately, the money that you wire the scammer comes right out of your bank account and is impossible to retrieve.
Scam of the day – July 9, 2026 – Scammers Using Fake CAPTCHA Tests to Hack Your Computer
CAPTCHA tests generally take the form of having to recognize scrambled letters or numbers or to recognize patterns in a number of photographs such as which photographs have traffic lights. People are familiar with CAPTCHA tests and although many people find them mildly annoying, people trust them and there is the problem. Scammer are setting up legitimate appearing websites with fake CAPTCHA tests, but instead of clicking on images in boxes or typing in scrambled letters you are instructed to press Windows +R and then press Ctrl + V and Press Enter. However if you do so, you will have instructed your computer to open a hidden Run window on your computer and download malware without doing anything further. This malware will steal your passwords and other sensitive data from your computer and lead to identity theft.
Scam of the day – July 8, 2026 – Thwarting the Wrong Type of Shredder is Child’s Play
Many people think that the common strip shredder which
shreds your documents in long strips will protect you from identity theft. The truth is it does not. This fact was reinforced a few years ago when North Carolina television station WFMY did an experiment with a group of fifth graders at the Northern Guilford Elementary School who were given shredded documents which they were able to piece together sufficiently to recognize account numbers and other information which in the wrong hands could lead to identity theft.
Scam of the day – July 7, 2026 – DIRECTTV Phishing Email
Phishing emails are perhaps the most common way people are scammed or become victims of identity theft. Phishing emails appear to come from a legitimate company with which you may do business and lure you into clicking on malware infected links or provide personal information that leads to your becoming a victim of identity theft.
Scam of the day – July 6, 2026 – Watch Out For Credit Repair Scams
Credit repair scams are very common as scammers take advantage of people with debt problems and promise to fix their credit and clear their credit reports of adverse information for up front fees. I have been warning you about these scams for thirteen years. Recently the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a warning about phony credit repair companies telling people to fix their credit by filing a false identity theft report all the while requiring an upfront payment for their services. Both of those are illegal. Credit repair companies must provide a detailed contract explaining your legal rights such as the right to cancel the contract without any charges within three days of signing the contract. The law also prohibits upfront payments before they perform any services.
Scam of the day – July 5, 2026 – American Consumer Credit Counseling Data Breach Settlement
American Consumer Credit Counseling, Inc. (“ACCC”) a non-profit credit counseling agency suffered a data breach recently experienced a data breach on Jan. 29, 2025, in which a cybercriminal gained access to ACCC’s computer systems and acquired copies of files containing personal information including names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial account numbers and/or payment card information.
Scam of the day – July 4, 2026 – You Can’t Trust Alexa for Customer Service Numbers
For years I have warned you about phony tech support scams done by scammers who establish bogus tech support websites for your favorite tech companies, such as Facebook and Instagram. By manipulating the algorithms used by Google and other search engines, the scammers manage to get their bogus websites into top positions in Google and other search engine searches. Other times, the merely purchase an ad on these search engines so their phony customer service number will be at the top of any search. These phony tech support websites are used to scam you out of money or personal information which they use to make you a victim of identity theft. Scammers also use similar tactics to scam people looking for help with the repair of common household appliances, such as refrigerators and washing machines.
Scam of the day – July 3, 2026 – Phony Geek Squad Invoice Scam Epidemic
According to the FTC the company most impersonated by scammers with phishing emails containing fake bills or fake renewals is Geek Squad. Geek Squad is a subsidiary of big box store chain Best Buy and it offers excellent tech support for electronic devices including televisions and computers. Scammers have been sending phishing emails that appear to be Geek Squad invoices. Reproduced below is one of those imposter phishing emails presently circulating. It looked like a legitimate email from Geek Squad, although the grammar was not particularly good which is one of many indications that it was a scam. These types of phishing emails are intended to lure you into contacting the scammers where you will be prompted to provide information that will lead to your becoming a victim of identity theft. This email is intended to get you to respond by calling the phone number contained in the email to dispute the bill. If you do call the number you will be prompted to provide personal information that would be used to make you a victim of identity theft.
Scam of the day – July 2, 2026 – Fourth of July Scams
Many scammers send out emails or text messages purportedly from the IRS or any of a number of state and federal agencies in which they require you to provide personal information under the guise of some emergency. They do this because if they can frighten you enough to act during the holiday in some instances you will be unable to confirm with the real entity as to whether the communication is legitimate because all of these entities will be closed on the Fourth of July. If you provide the requested information, it will be used against you to make you a victim of identity theft.
Scam of the day – July 1, 2026 – Phony Inheritance Scam
The Federal Trade Commission is warning people about a scam which begins when you get a letter from a law firm informing you that they are probating an estate in which they have not been able to locate an heir, however, they then inform you that you are the heir to the million dollar estate. The letter then offers to split the value of the estate with you, some charities and their law firm. If you respond to the letter, you will be asked to provide personal and financial information including your Social Security number and to pay a fee. If this sounds vaguely familiar it is because it is just a variation of the Nigerian email scam that continues to plague the online community.
Scam of the day – June 30, 2026 – “Kind” Can be a Dangerous Word When it Comes to Scams
So when you get an email or a text message that appears to be from a governmental agency such as the IRS or a company such as Amazon that uses the word “kindly” in a communication requesting a payment, personal information or asking you to click on a link or download an attachment under any pretense, you should immediately remember BS, be skeptical.
Scam of the day – June 29, 2026 – Louisiana Sheriff Warns About Scammers Posing as Priests
I first warned you about this particular scam in 2017, but it has recently resurfaced in many places around the country including St. James Louisiana where the local sheriff is warning people about scammers posing as a local priest contacting parishioners and attempting to lure them into sending gift cards. Similarly, last year, parishioners of the Nativity Lutheran Church in Bend, Oregon received emails that appeared to come from their Pastor, Chris Kramer in which they were asked to buy Target gift cards and provide the numbers of the gift cards to the phony Pastor Kramer to help with a “delicate” situation. The email contained the photo of the pastor and was written in a manner that closely followed his writing style. The scammers may have been aided by AI in doing so. This wasn’t even the first time this type of scam had targeted parishioners of the church. A similar less sophisticated version of the email was done five years ago.
Scam of the day – June 28, 2026 – Scammers Love WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) more scams in the United States are started on social media than on any other platform at a cost of 2 billion dollars in 2025 and that figure is undoubtedly low because many victims, often out of embarrassment, do not report being victimized. A study done by the Fin Tech company Revolut found that 60% of all scams in the UK originated on the Meta platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp with investment scams being the most common form of scam. Revolut referred to social media as a “hotbed” for scams.
Scam of the day – June 27, 2026 – Stolen Car Reward Scam
Scammers are taking photos of cars and then posting them on social media indicating that the car has been stolen and that a thousand dollar reward is being offered for information about the whereabouts of the car. When people respond to the social media post with information about the “stolen” car, they are then instructed to provide their bank account number and bank routing number in order to have the reward sent to their bank account.
Scam of the day – June 26, 2026 – Porn in the Cloud Scam
People are reporting receiving calls that purport to be from Apple’s Special Investigations Unit telling them that illegal child pornography has been discovered on their cloud account. The phony investigator is sympathetic when you inform them that you never stored child pornography on the cloud or anywhere else. He tells you that most likely the child pornography was somehow planted by a hacker on your computer and it is being backed up in the cloud. In order to remedy the problem, the phony Apple investigator tells you he needs remote access to your computer in order to locate and remove the child pornography from your computer. The cost of this service can be as high as thousands of dollars which the phony investigator requests be paid through Amazon gift cards. This scam presents a double whammy. Victims of the scam not only pay the scammer for services they don’t need, but by providing remote access to their computers, they enable the scammer to install a wide variety of malware that can lead to identity theft and further scams.
Scam of the day – June 25, 2026 – Synthetic Identity Theft Worsens
Synthetic identity theft poses a significant threat to many people particularly children. Synthetic identity theft occurs when a criminal takes information from a variety of sources to create a new identity to take out loans, purchase goods and services, or fraudulently obtain credit cards. Synthetic identity thieves combine real and fake information to form a new fictional person. They may use your Social Security number and combine it with the name, address and phone number of someone else. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has said that synthetic identity theft is the fastest growing type of identity theft. Children are the most common victims of synthetic identity theft and it is often many years before the problem is discovered.
Scam of the day – June 24, 2026 – The Danger of Social Media Quizzes
Quizzes on Facebook and other social media are very popular, but they can be exploited by identity thieves. A good example of this was the “10 Concerts, but there is one act that I haven’t seen live. Which is it?” Facebook quiz. While this may appear harmless, the information you provide may tell more about you than is safe to make public. It may provide information about your approximate age and preferences in music which can then be used by a scammer to send you a spear phishing email tailored to appeal to your particular interests that you may trust and click on a link contained in the email that contains either keystroke logging malware that can be used to steal your identity or ransomware.
Scam of the day – June 23, 2026 – Phantom Debt Collection Scams
Receiving a telephone call from a debt collector is not a pleasant experience. Being hounded by someone attempting to collect a debt you do not owe constitutes fraud. In recent years the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken action against a number of these phantom debt collection agencies. These scammers used false claims and threats to compel people to pay debts which were largely either non-existent or which the defendants had no authority to collect. They also violated federal law by illegally failing to provide proper notices and disclaimers also required by federal law.
Scam of the day – June 22, 2026 – Amazon Refund Scam
The most recent Amazon phishing scam involves an email or a text message that appears to come from Amazon telling you that a product you recently bought has failed a routine quality inspection and therefore it is being recalled. You are further told that you do not have to even return the item and that you are eligible for a full refund. In order to claim your refund, you are instructed to click on a link in the email or text message which takes you to a phony Amazon login or refund page that asks for you Amazon credentials, payment information and personal details. Of course, there is no refund and if you supply the information you will enable the scammer to take over your Amazon account as well as make you a victim of identity theft.
Scam of the day – June 21, 2026 – Telephone Call From No One Scam
We have all experienced telephone calls where you pick up the phone and there is no one on the other end of the line. This is a scam, but how does it work and how are you harmed? With computers that can be programmed to make massive amounts of telephone calls, scammers will often first test their lists of telephone numbers by making these calls to determine which telephone numbers are valid numbers for them to call back later with automated robocalls by which they will attempt to either sell you something worthless or gather information from you that can be used to make you a victim of identity theft.
Scam of the day – June 20, 2026 – Celebrity Deepfake Scams
For years I have told you about scammers posing as various popular celebrities in ads and on social media luring people into making payments for worthless products. Scammers also pose as celebrities on social media through which they contact fans of the impersonated celebrity and scam them through romance scams and a variety of other scams. Unfortunately, with the increased of Artificial Intelligence these phony ads and scams have become both more believable looking and more frequent as the deepfake and other AI technology becomes readily available to less technologically savvy scammers.
Scam of the day – June 19, 2026 – Phony Restaurant Delivery Service Scam
Scammers create websites for phony delivery services using names such as “Order Hero” and “Order Ventures” or they mimic websites of legitimate restaurants or delivery services and through manipulating algorithms used by search engines to rank websites may appear at the top of a Google Chrome or other search engine search. Some sophisticated scammers have even managed to place their phony delivery sites in so many chat rooms and other places on the Internet that they get picked up as a legitimate site by AI so you can’t trust your query to AI for a legitimate delivery service. Trust me, you can’t trust anyone.
Scam of the day – June 18, 2026 – Father’s Day Scams
Identity thieves send emails purporting to contain a link to an electronic Father’s Day card, but instead of an electronic greeting card, what they actually are sending is malware that becomes downloaded when the victim clicks on the link. A common type of malware sent by criminals is keystroke logging malware enables an identity thief to steal personal information from the victim’s computer that can be used for purposes of identity theft. In other instances, the malware is ransomware which will encrypt all of your data which the hacker threatens to destroy unless you pay a cryptocurrency ransom.
Scam of the day – June 17, 2026 – Evolution of the Brushing Scam
Now we are seeing a resurgence of this scam, but in a more threatening manner. While in the original brushing scam, people receiving the unordered items did not suffer any financial harm, now scammers are sending unordered goods, most often through Amazon, to people with a QR code and instructions to scan the QR code in order to see who sent the goods. If you scan the QR code either you will be taken to a phony, but legitimate appearing website where you will be prompted to provide personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft or, even worse, merely by scanning the QR code you may download malware that will steal personal information from your phone that can lead to identity theft.
Scam of the day – June 16, 2026 – Bogus DeepNude Deepfake App Scam
The Russian cybercrime gang FIN7 which has also been known as Carbanak has created seven websites that advertise what they refer to as a “DeepNude Generator” which provides artificial intelligence deepfake technology to enable anyone using their site to create deepfake nude photos and videos. People either downloading the software of signing up for a free trial end up downloading various forms of malware including ransomware. FIN7 has also used their technical expertise to manipulate the algorithms used by search engines to enable them to get a prominent listing in searches for porn sites.