The Federal Trade Commission is alerting consumers about a next-level, more sophisticated family emergency scam that uses AI that imitates the voice of a "family member in distress". They started out with: "You get a call. There's a panicked voice on the line. It's your grandson. He says he's in deep trouble — he wrecked the car and landed in jail. But you can help by sending money. You take a deep breath and think. You've heard about grandparent scams. But darn, it sounds just like him.

John Kevin Adriano, Trustwave SpiderLabs Security Researcher Tax season is a busy time of year for taxpayers and threat actors. Consumers and businesses focus on filing their taxes and getting excited over possible refunds, while cybercriminals roll out both their tried-and-true tax scams along with implementing new efforts.

The Advancement in technology and online payment transaction has offered an immense amount of convenience to both consumers and businesses. The ease and widespread acceptance of online payment including the credit/debit card transaction has streamlined business processes and payment transactions greatly.

According to the 2020 FTC Data Report, vishing constituted 31% of fraud reports, with an aggregated loss of $436 million. That's a lot of vishing. Scammers' methods have become out-of-this-world, too. Years ago, a social media video of a police officer taking a scam call in real time became viral. The scammer, posing as a banking representative, requested personal information on the pretext of verifying their account. The officer was uncooperative.

Impersonation has thousands of years of history. When we think of impersonating something or someone, at first glance, the intent is typically the act of deceiving someone. Identity and online impersonation are malicious intent crimes that have been around for decades. With new technologies and platforms, criminals find plenty of new victims and hunting grounds. Online impersonation and identity theft are somewhat similar in the type of crimes.

In recent years, cybercrime has evolved to become more sophisticated than ever before. One of the up and coming methods used by criminals is vishing (voice phishing). This is where an attacker phones up a victim to simulate a trusted source such as a bank to phish for sensitive information. No one is immune from a vishing attack, even the Social Security Administration.

With tax day in the U.S. fast approaching, most people are opting to e-file their returns. But while online tax filing and payment have become more popular, so have tax scams targeting unsuspecting taxpayers. Here are some common online tax scams to avoid.

India has recently announced plans to introduce new security testing for smartphones to improve the security of its citizens' personal information and prevent cyber threats from compromising sensitive data. The move comes in response to concerns about the increasing reliance on smartphones in India, which has made the country vulnerable to cyber-attacks and data breaches.

In today’s digital world, identity theft and fraud have become increasingly common occurrences. It is no secret that fraudsters are getting more creative, making it more challenging for businesses and individuals to protect themselves. However, with the advent of technology, there are various ways to mitigate these risks, such as using government databases for ID verification.

Each day, there are multiple news stories about fraud. Some share details about fraud committed against government entities or agencies, some tell us about instances in our educational institutions, and still, others describe the types of fraud against individuals in the form of identity theft. In the post-pandemic United States, fraud has increased in the public sector because our government has made benefits more accessible to those in need.

Is it a bot? Or is it a human? Is it texting spam? Or is it a promo message? These are just some of the questions online users ask when navigating websites, notifications, and messages. These questions are not only fair, but they're also necessary. While there are pros and cons to navigating an online world with AI and chatbots, it's essential to know how to spot fake AI communication so you can protect yourself from scammers and cybercriminals.

In our last blog, we looked at 2022’s most prominent global payment fraud trends, including application fraud and synthetic identities, bot-driven DDoS attacks, brute force BIN attacks, and authorized push payment fraud. We also discussed the convergence of cybercrime and payment fraud as cybercriminals constantly look for new ways to exploit payment networks by distracting infosec teams with cyberattacks while they launch fraud attacks.

Scam calls are phone calls you may receive that are unsolicited, spoofed and claim to be from someone or a company they’re not. For example, you may receive a phone call claiming to be law enforcement and while the caller ID and location may match a legitimate police department, it has been spoofed to look legitimate. There are a few ways you can prevent receiving scam calls such as getting an app that blocks them.