To subscribe to my monthly email newsletter, you have to enter your information on the webpage, and then reply to an automatically generated email. This is, of course, to prevent people from subscribing addresses other than their own.
Starting last weekend, I have been receiving a lot of individual responses to those emails. Always one line:
Thank you for the positive impact your emails have had on my life.
Your emails are a game-changer.
Your emails are a constant reminder of why I subscribed.
Your emails rock.
Thank you for the time and effort you put into creating these informative emails.
Thank you for the passion and enthusiasm you infuse into your email content.
Your emails consistently exceed my expectations. Thank you for the exceptional value!
I responded to the first few, because sometimes I do get these nice emails from readers and I hadn’t yet realized it was all fake. But so many, and all at once—this is obviously AI. And obviously a scam, except I can’t figure out what the scam is.
All Gmail. None of the addresses has actually subscribed to Crypto-Gram. They could; whoever is sending the emails could easily have confirmed the subscription.
My first thought was pig butchering—wanting me to respond and turn this into a conversation—but no one has responded to any of my responses. Anyone have any idea?
Fortnite scam pages like the ones below appear by the dozen every day, recycled endlessly under different names and designs.
One version promises $50 from a fake superhero collaboration. Another claims it can calculate what your locker is worth. Both lead to the same destination: a fake Epic Games login page designed to steal your account. It’s an old trick, but it still catches people out.
The short version
If a website promises free V-Bucks, cash, or a tool to calculate your locker’s value, then asks you to log in with your Epic account to get it, it’s not run by Epic.
Epic doesn’t offer an official tool that values accounts, and no legitimate giveaway requires you to sign in through a third-party site. You’re just handing your Epic username and password to scammers.
If you or your child entered your Epic login details on one of these sites, assume the account has been compromised. Change the password immediately, turn on two-factor authentication, and don’t reuse that password on any other accounts.
Why do they want your login?
A stolen Fortnite account can be worth real money. Criminals can take over accounts with rare skins, spend any saved payment methods, sell the account on underground marketplaces, or use it to scam the owner’s friends. They may also try the same username and password on other online accounts, hoping the password has been reused.
Why Fortnite?
Fortnite still attracts around 110 million monthly players and has more than 650 million registered accounts. That alone makes it an attractive target for cybercriminals.
The audience’s age matters too. In December 2022, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined Epic Games a record $520 million, after alleging that the company knew children made up a substantial share of its player base and left voice and text chat turned on by default, exposing them to strangers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) also cites industry experts who say young gamers are especially vulnerable to phishing because they spend more time on social media and are less familiar with social engineering.
The game is also built around visible status. Skins, emotes, and pickaxes cost real money, making the idea that “your locker has a price” feel plausible. Rare or discontinued skins really do sell for hundreds of dollars on unofficial marketplaces, even though Epic offers no official way to cash out V-Bucks and selling accounts violates its terms of service. That kernel of truth is exactly what these locker-value scams exploit.
That’s also what makes them more convincing than a simple V-Bucks giveaway. Instead of promising something for nothing, they play on curiosity about something the player already owns. That’s probably why this version keeps coming back.
How the scam works
Some pages promise rewards:
Others skip the free-reward pitch and frame the locker itself as hidden value the player is owed:
Others frame it as competition instead of currency:
The hook changes, but the fake login page doesn’t. These sites all do the same thing. They ask you to sign in with your Epic account so they can steal your username and password.
Another variant: Fake settlement claims
This one borrows a real story. Epic did settle with the FTC for $520 million, and real payments are still going out in 2026. But the real settlement pays actual dollars through the FTC’s own process, not in-game V-Bucks through an “Epic Games Locker,” and the claim window closed in July 2025.
References to an “EU Regulatory Mandate” and the case number shown on these pages don’t match any genuine legal action.
How to stay safe
Fortnite scams change constantly, but the advice doesn’t.
Use Malwarebytes Browser Guard to block known phishing sites before they have a chance to steal your login details.
Only sign in to your Epic account at epicgames.com. If another website asks for your Epic login, leave.
Be sceptical of offers that sound too good to be true. Free V-Bucks, locker valuations, and surprise rewards are all common phishing lures.
Verify refunds and settlements on the official source. If a page claims you’re owed money, check the regulator’s website yourself instead of following its links.
Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA). It can stop attackers from accessing your account even if they steal your password.
Use Malwarebytes Scam Guard. It can help you identify suspicious links and messages before you click.
What to do if you clicked
Change the Epic password immediately, going directly to epicgames.com, not through the suspicious link.
Turn on two-factor authentication if you haven’t already.
Check your linked email for password reset requests or login alerts you didn’t make.
Review connected devices/services on the account and remove anything unfamiliar.
If you entered payment details anywhere, contact your card issuer and monitor your statements.
Report the page to Epic’s support and flag it as phishing in your browser.
If the page claims to be part of a settlement or refund, verify it on the regulator’s official website. For the Epic settlement, that’s ftc.gov.
Stop threats before they can do any harm.
Malwarebytes Browser Guard blocks phishing pages and malicious sites automatically. Free, one click to install. Add it to your browser →
A whole industry has sprung up around selling TikTok “growth.”
Cheap views by the hundred, pre-made ad accounts, and polished sales pages promising a repeatable path to serious revenue.
None of it is officially sanctioned by TikTok, and depending on what you’re buying, you could end up wasting money, losing your account, or handing your login details to scammers.
Scam 1: Sites selling cheap likes and engagement
Sites selling bulk engagement all look remarkably similar.
They offer small bundles of views, likes, or followers for a few pounds, usually alongside identical packages for YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms.
The sales pitch is almost always the same: “100% real profiles,” “no bots, no click farms,” and “completely safe.”
Those claims are worth reading carefully because they’re addressing the biggest concern buyers already have.
At this price point, bulk engagement is usually generated through bots, click farms, or other artificial means—the very thing these sites insist they don’t use.
Even if your engagement numbers increase initially, TikTok’s fraud detection systems can remove artificial engagement, and accounts that repeatedly use these services risk being flagged or restricted.
Scam 2: The “aged” ad account marketplace
Another common offer is bulk TikTok Ads accounts sold as “aged” or “trusted,” often bundled with a replacement guarantee if an account stops working. The pitch is that you skip the hassle of setting up and verifying a new advertising account.
The problem is that you don’t know how those accounts were created. Many are built using stolen or synthetic identities, compromised payment details, or other deceptive methods. Buying one means inheriting that history—and the very real risk that TikTok detects it and suspends the account, along with any campaigns or ad budget attached to it. A replacement guarantee won’t help if your advertising is suddenly brought to a halt.
Scam 3: The growth framework
A third type of offer is less obviously a scam and more of a marketing funnel.
Slick landing pages—often hosted on free platforms and paired with an embedded video—promise a “proven blueprint” for turning TikTok into a major source of income, usually backed by impressive but unverifiable claims about past clients.
The immediate goal is usually to collect your email address, and sometimes your phone number, before revealing what’s actually for sale. That might be a paid course, a “done-for-you” management service, or a request for direct access to your TikTok Shop or Ads account.
What happens next varies, but the common thread is the same: you’re being asked to trust an unverified third party with your business, your money, or your account.
What you’re really signing up for
Not every TikTok marketing service is a scam. But if someone’s offering thousands of views for a few pounds, bulk “aged” ad accounts, or guaranteed growth, you’re in a very different part of the market.
These services promise shortcuts. What they often deliver is fake engagement, accounts with questionable histories, or requests for access to your own account.
At best, you’ve wasted your money on engagement TikTok later strips away. At worst, you’re buying an account built on stolen information or giving an untrusted third party full access to your own.
Our advice
Don’t pay for views, likes, or followers. Artificial engagement isn’t real growth and can put your account at risk under TikTok’s rules.
Never share your TikTok username and password with a “boosting” service, regardless of how it’s presented.
Don’t buy or sell TikTok Ads or Business accounts outside TikTok’s own account creation process.
Treat “guaranteed revenue” frameworks and courses like any other business opportunity: they’re sales pages first, educational content second.
None of this is unique to TikTok. The platform’s explosive growth has simply given a familiar ecosystem of low-effort scams a new audience.
Scammers don’t need to hack you. They just need you to click once.
Shoppers browsing on their phones are landing on convincing Walmart lookalike sites offering name-brand liquor at 40% to 70% off, only to be led straight to a checkout page asking for a full credit card number, expiry date, and CVV.
The sites have no connection to Walmart. They’re part of a network of more than 120 near-identical domains built to look like a legitimate retailer just long enough to steal your card details.
Fake Walmart websites
The name “Walmart” is doing most of the work here. It’s one of the most recognized retailers in the world, and it’s that familiarity that makes people lower their guard. A shopper who’d hesitate on an unfamiliar website may think nothing of an unusually large discount because the logo, colours, and layout look familiar.
That trust hasn’t been earned by the site. It’s borrowed from a brand that has nothing to do with it.
If you’ve entered your card details on one of these pages, the safest assumption is that your card has been compromised.
How the scam works
The scam follows a simple pattern: a Walmart-branded homepage, category pages stacked with heavily discounted liquor, and a checkout form asking for full card details.
The discounts do much of the persuading. Seeing premium brands advertised at 60% or 70% off encourages people to buy first and ask questions later.
The same WordPress/WooCommerce template powers every site in the network. They share the same product catalogue, prices, and images. The only differences are fabricated US business addresses and phone numbers that are swapped out for each domain.
How to avoid this scam
Be sceptical of discounts that don’t match a retailer’s usual promotions, especially on liquor or electronics.
Check the address bar before entering payment details. A genuine Walmart sale won’t send you to an unfamiliar .shop domain.
Use tools that can identify scam websites automatically, such as Malwarebytes Browser Guard on desktop, or ask Scam Guard if it thinks a domain is suspicious.
On mobile, where these sites are designed to work, Malwarebytes Mobile Security can block known phishing and scam domains before you reach the checkout.
If you already entered your card details
Contact your card issuer immediately. Explain what happened and ask whether the card should be cancelled and replaced.
Watch your account for unauthorized charges, including small “test” transactions.
Report the domain through your browser’s phishing reporting feature and to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov if you’re in the US.
The simplest defence is also the most effective: if a retailer needs a lookalike domain to sell you something, it’s probably a scam.
Sextortion scammers are using email addresses from data leaked by the ShinyHunters hacking group to add some credibility to their feeble attempts to convince people they have embarrassing information about them.
Sextortion emails are messages claiming that the scammer recorded you through your webcam while you watched pornography and now demand payment. They have been around for years and keep evolving with small changes in wording and fake technical detail.
In this campaign, the scammers pretend to be ShinyHunters. What hasn’t changed is the basic truth: there is no malware, no recording, and no credible evidence behind the threat. Despite seeing countless versions of these emails over the years, I’ve yet to encounter one that was backed up by the evidence the sender claimed to have.
BleepingComputer reports that ShinyHunters data leaks are fueling a $2,000 sextortion email scam and shared the following example:
“Subject: Information about your online security
Hello,
We are the ShinyHunters hacking group. A few months ago, we gained access to your devices and started monitoring your online activities.
What happened: We gained access to the Amtrak.com database where you have an account and easily accessed your email. You weren’t very careful about the links you opened. A week later, we installed an exploit on your devices, including your phone, giving us access to your microphone, camera, keyboard, and all your data. We have your photos, browsing history, conversations, and contact list.
Among other things, we discovered that you frequently visit adult websites and watch explicit videos. We managed to record you and created videos of you pleasuring yourself. With a few clicks, we can share these videos with your friends, colleagues, and family or even make them public.
Proposal: Send us $2000 in Bitcoin to the following wallet: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
We’ll delete everything immediately. You have 48 hours from the moment you open this email. Once the payment is received, we’ll remove the malware from your devices.”
BleepingComputer states it has seen data from the Amtrak, Hallmark, ADT, Substack, Betterment, CarGurus, Panera Bread, and McGraw Hill breaches used to target victims in this sextortion email campaign.
A California community college also issued a warning after seeing the campaign target people affected by the Canvas data breach.
They confirmed that the targeted email addresses had previously appeared in data leaked by ShinyHunters. They also contacted the group, which denied being behind the sextortion emails.
The increase to a $2,000 demand may suggest the scammers paid someone for the email lists. Although it’s more likely they simply downloaded the leaked data after ShinyHunters published it following failed extortion attempts.
A quick check of the Bitcoin address used in the email shows no activity.
No activity on their Bitcoin address
Let’s keep it that way. With any luck, these dungeon dwellers will eventually give up trying to scare people out of their hard-earned money.
How to react to sextortion emails
Some sextortion emails are badly written, but many have been polished by AI and look convincing. Regardless of how professional they look, they should be treated the same way: as unsubstantiated threats designed to scare victims into paying.
First and foremost, never reply to emails of this kind. Responding confirms that someone is actively reading messages sent to that address and may encourage further scam attempts.
Don’t let yourself be rushed into action. Scammers rely on the fact that you will not take the time to think this through and subsequently make mistakes. Ask for advice if you’re not sure.
An attachment is not proof. Most sextortion emails contain no evidence at all, and attachments are often used to deliver malware or make the threats appear more convincing.
If the email includes a password you’ve used before, change it immediately anywhere it’s still in use. Then enable two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever possible. If you’re having trouble keeping track of your passwords, consider using a password manager.
Delete the message, report it as spam, and move on.
Pro tip: Malwarebytes Scam Guard recognized this email for what it is: sextortion. It can recognize scams and advise you how to proceed.
While these sextortion emails are almost always bluffs, if you’re concerned about webcam spying, Malwarebytes Webcam Monitoring can alert you when applications attempt to access your camera.
Resin art has become a popular corner of TikTok, with some videos attracting millions of views. But not every glossy, colorful post is what it claims to be. Scammers are using the look of handmade resin art to trick buyers, collectors, and even fellow artists into sending money for work that either doesn’t exist or wasn’t created by the person posting it.
There are plenty of genuine resin artists on TikTok. Unfortunately, the platform has also attracted scammers who steal videos and impersonate legitimate creators.
The scam is fairly straightforward. A TikTok account presents itself as a resin artist, posts satisfying videos, and invites people to “DM to order.” In some cases, the videos are stolen from other creators, the account has no real process footage, and the seller disappears after receiving payment.
One resin artist discovered that scammers were using their videos to impersonate them and scam TikTok users. They shared the following comment:
Ridiculous TikTok scammer…lol. Profile says they’re a resin artist and to DM them to order, but none of the videos are theirs. When I wrote to them asking them to take down the many videos of mine that they posted, passing them off as their own with no credit, their answer was that they aren’t a resin artist and are just sharing videos they like Literally about 1/4 of “their” videos are mine
These scams often rely on trust and urgency. The account may show polished clips of poured resin, finished coasters, trays, jewelry, or wall art, then push buyers to move the conversation into direct messages. Once the buyer moves to a different platform, the scammer typically requests a deposit, full payment, or personal details with little chance of being held accountable.
And real artists don’t just get their work ripped off. A scammer may contact a creator claiming to want to buy, feature, or license their work, but the real goal is to extract fees, banking information, or other sensitive data. Social media art scams are often repetitive because they are built from the same templates and scripts.
Different videos, same script
How to spot a TikTok resin art scam
The safest approach is the boring one: verify before you pay. If the artwork looks amazing but the seller’s identity is vague, the risk is real.
Check the TikTok account
Before ordering, look for signs that the artist is genuine:
The account didn’t appear overnight and has a history of original posts.
The same videos don’t appear under multiple creator names or belong to another artist.
The creator shows themselves making the artwork, with consistent process videos, a recognizable workspace, and works in progress.
The videos don’t contain obvious AI artifacts, such as impossible resin effects or objects moving after they’ve supposedly been sealed inside hardened resin.
Comments raising concerns haven’t been deleted or buried under generic praise.
The seller isn’t pushing you to order only through direct messages or asking for payment before you’ve verified who they are.
Check the website
If you do click through to a website, spend a few minutes checking it before you buy:
Look for a genuine returns and refunds policy, a physical business address, company or VAT details (where applicable), and consistent contact information.
Check how old the website is. Scam sites often use domains that were registered only weeks or months ago, especially when they claim to have been selling handmade products for years.
Search for recent independent reviews rather than relying on testimonials published on the site itself.
Run a reverse image search on the product photos to see whether they’ve been copied from another artist.
Only pay using a method that offers buyer protection, such as a credit card or PayPal. If a seller insists on a bank transfer, cryptocurrency, or another irreversible payment method, walk away.
Not every resin art account is a scam. Many belong to genuine artists, and that’s why impersonation scams can be so convincing.
If you’re unsure, paste the website address into Malwarebytes Scam Guard and ask whether it shows signs of being fraudulent. It can help identify suspiciously new domains and other common scam indicators.
Use real-time web protection to block known fraudulent and malicious websites, like Browser Guard did for this web shop:
Browser Guard blocks the fraudulent website
Both are free—making them much cheaper than sending money to a scammer.
Something feel off? Check it before you click.
Malwarebytes Scam Guard helps you analyze suspicious links, texts, and screenshots instantly.
Fortinet on Tuesday revealed it will use Intel Foundry to fab its sixth-gen Security Processor (SP6), a nice win for Chipzilla's sputtering chipmaking biz. The chips feature dedicated accelerators designed specifically for the security and cryptographic operations required by modern hardware firewalls. The custom chips are one of Fortinet's defining features. Many cybersecurity hardware players build appliances around commodity hardware like x86 and Arm CPUs, but Fortinet prefers custom application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The two companies haven't said when the chips will enter production, much less what the SP6's speeds and feeds will entail, though we imagine it'll have a bit more pep than Fortinet's SP5 chips. The SP5 launched in 2023 and boasted support for layer 7 firewalling and IPsec VPN connectivity at speeds exceeding 30 Gbps. Throughput fell when advanced threat protection or SSL inspection was enabled, but Fortinet still claimed a speedy 4.3 Gbps and 3.3 Gbps, respectively. As you might have already figured out, Fortinet's SP line is designed primarily for smaller appliances like SD-WAN gateways, rather than larger datacenter-centric appliances built around its beefier NP and CP-series parts. While Intel couldn't offer much detail on the chip itself, we're told it will use the older Intel 4 process node rather than the leading-edge 18A process tech. Chipzilla also suggested Fortinet will draw on its experience in disaggregated semiconductor design and advanced packaging, which could mean a chiplet architecture with greater scalability. With so little detail, we can only speculate. Intel declined to say which technologies beyond Intel 4 the chip will use. The x86 giant also declined to comment on the availability of the product, noting only that "details regarding the Fortinet Security Processor 6 availability will be announced at a later date." While SP6 won't use the latest chipmaking tech, it will be built in an American fab by an American company, offering a level of supply chain security that remains difficult to find. If you want even remotely leading-edge silicon, Intel, Samsung, and TSMC are your only options. US-based production can still mean settling for a less advanced process, although TSMC's first Arizona fab has already begun churning out 4 nm silicon and Samsung aims to bring its new Texas plant online this year. Fortinet would not be the first to enlist Intel's manufacturing might for sensitive workloads. Under DARPA's HIVE program, the chipmaker built an eight-core, 528-thread processor with 1 TB/s silicon-photonics interconnects specifically to accelerate graph analytics workloads. But it doesn't stop at the DoD. Supply chain security is something Intel has leaned into as it has sought to reinvent itself from an integrated device manufacturer serving mainly itself, and occasionally the US government, into a full-fledged foundry ready to compete with Samsung and, ultimately, TSMC. In mid-2024, Uncle Sam awarded Intel $3 billion to establish a secure enclave for manufacturing chips for government agencies. Since then, the US government has taken a 9.9 percent stake in the American chip biz. ®
The percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked continued to decrease, reaching 19.6% in Q1 2026. This is the lowest value in three years, and it is 1.4 times lower than in Q2 2023.
Percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked, Q2 2023–Q1 2026
Regionally, the percentages ranged from 9.1% in Northern Europe to 27.4% in Africa.
Regions ranked by percentage of attacked ICS computers
The percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked increased in five regions over the quarter, most notably in Southern Europe, Northern Europe, and Russia.
In Q1 2026, Southern Europe led the way in growth for internet and email threats. The region also saw the fastest growth in spyware, as well as malicious scripts and phishing pages.
In Russia, the percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked exceeded the figures for the previous two quarters. Russia saw an increase in the percentage for threats from the internet, and a slight increase in the figure for threats from email clients (Russia is one of three regions where this figure did not decrease).
Among the threat categories, the greatest increases were observed in the percentages for denylisted internet resources, as well as spyware (distributed in the region via the internet and email clients).
Selected industries
Biometric systems (26.4%) traditionally rank top among the industries and OT infrastructure types covered in this report in terms of the percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked. These systems are characterized by internet access, extensive email use for data exchange and approvals (such as access granting), and, in many cases, minimal cybersecurity controls within the organizations that use these systems.
Industries ranked by the percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked
Biometric systems rank first among industries in terms of email threats. At the same time, unlike other industries, the percentage for email threats in biometric systems exceeds that for internet threats.
In all selected industries, the global average follows a downward trend. In Q1 2026, the percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked increased only in the manufacturing sector — by 1.0 pp. The percentages for this industry increased across 10 regions, with the most notable increases in Western Europe, Northern Europe, and Russia.
Threat categories
In Q1 2026, Kaspersky security solutions blocked malware from 10,052 different malware families of various categories on industrial automation systems.
Over the quarter, the percentage of ICS computers on which denylisted internet resources were blocked increased (after decreasing over the previous two quarters), and there was a slight increase in the percentage for AutoCAD malware.
Percentage of ICS computers on which the activity of malicious objects from various categories was prevented
Malicious scripts and phishing pages (JS and HTML)
Malicious scripts and phishing pages retained their to spot among threat categories by the percentage of ICS computers on which these threats were blocked. The global average in Q1 2026 was 6.56%.
Over the quarter, the percentages increased in four regions. The most significant change was observed in Southern Europe (9.85%, +0.94 pp). The figures for malicious scripts in the region increased over three consecutive quarters.
Among the selected industries, across all regions, the highest percentages for the malicious scripts and phishing pages category were recorded for biometric systems (19.59%) and building automation (15.43%) in Southern Europe. These same industries lead in similar rankings for malicious documents and spyware.
Spyware
The percentage of ICS computers on which spyware was blocked decreased over two consecutive quarters, dropping to 3.73%. Despite the decline, spyware has ranked second among threat categories by the percentage of attacked computers for three consecutive quarters.
The percentages increased in five regions over the quarter, most notably in Southern Europe (5.46%, +0.35 pp) and Russia (2.84%, +0.24 pp).
In Southern Europe, the percentage of ICS computers on which spyware was blocked increased in all the selected industries except manufacturing. The greatest increase was observed in biometric systems.
Among the selected industries, the highest percentage of spyware in Russia was recorded in biometric systems. That said, the percentage of ICS computers on which spyware was blocked increased in all industries in the region except construction. The percentage figure has been increasing for two consecutive quarters in the oil and gas industry (by a factor of 1.63 over six months), and for three consecutive quarters in engineering and ICS integration, as well as electric power. In the remaining sectors, the values have been fluctuating.
Percentage of ICS computers on which spyware was blocked in various industries in Russia, Q3 2025–Q1 2026
Denylisted internet resources
The percentage of ICS computers on which denylisted internet resources were blocked increased to 3.54%.
The most notable increase over the quarter occurred in Southeast Asia (4.58%, +0.65 pp). Among the industries in the region, the highest percentage figures for this threat category were recorded in electric power and construction. Over the quarter, the largest increases in percentages figures were observed in the electric power and manufacturing industries.
In North America (Canada), denylisted internet resources (2.14%) showed the greatest increase among all categories — by a factor of 1.22.
Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentage figures for the denylisted internet resources category were in the electric power (7.11%) and construction (6.25%) industries in Southeast Asia.
Malicious documents (Microsoft Office + PDF)
The percentage figure for this category decreased over two consecutive quarters, reaching its lowest value (1.56%) for the entire period of observations in Q1 2026. It increased just in two regions: Australia and New Zealand (1.12%, +0.04 pp), and Russia (0.62%, +0.01 pp).
Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for malicious documents were recorded for biometric systems (9.02%) and building automation (6.97%) in Southern Europe. These same industries also lead in similar rankings for malicious scripts and spyware.
Ransomware
The percentage of ICS computers on which ransomware was blocked has decreased for two consecutive quarters, dropping to 0.14%. This is the lowest value among all categories.
The percentage increased in two regions: North America (Canada) (0.11%, +0.04 pp) and slightly in Northern Europe (0.06%, +0.01 pp).
Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for ransomware were recorded in the oil and gas and manufacturing industries (0.92% and 0.65%, respectively) in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, and in biometric systems (0.89%) in Russia.
Miners in the form of executable files for Windows
The percentage of ICS computers on which miners in the form of executable files for Windows were blocked decreased to 0.59%.
The percentage increased in seven regions. The largest increase was observed in Africa (0.63%, +0.16 pp). Among the selected industries, the largest increases in the region were in the manufacturing and oil and gas industries.
Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for miners in the form of executable files were recorded in construction (1.99%), biometric systems (1.98%), and the oil and gas industry (1.97%) in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
Web miners
The percentage of ICS computers on which web miners were blocked has been declining for a year, and in Q1 2026, it reached the lowest value for the entire period under review (0.22%).
At the same time, the percentage increased in seven regions. The largest increases were observed in South Asia (0.28%, +0.11 pp), the Middle East (0.31%, +0.09 pp), and Africa (0.34%, +0.08 pp). Despite the increases, the percentages in these regions for Q1 2026 did not exceed those observed in 2023–2024 and in Q1 2025.
Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for web miners were recorded for biometric systems (0.97%) in Russia. Biometric systems in South Asia (0.79%) ranked second, and the electric power sector in Southeast Asia (0.76%) ranked third.
Worms
The percentage of ICS computers on which worms were blocked decreased to 1.33%.
The percentage decreased across all regions following an increase in the previous quarter (due to a wave of phishing attacks that distributed the Backdoor.MSIL.XWorm backdoor worm across all regions of the world).
Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentage figure for worms was recorded for biometric systems (4.80%) in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Two industries in Africa – biometric systems (4.04%) and electric power (3.53%) – took the second and third spots, respectively.
Viruses
The percentage of ICS computers on which viruses were blocked decreased to 1.31%.
The top 3 regions by this figure remained the same: Southeast Asia (6.11%, first by a wide margin), Africa (4.15%), and East Asia (2.97%). These same regions are also among the leaders by the percentage of systems affected by AutoCAD malware. The largest increase in this figure was observed in Africa (+0.41 pp).
Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for viruses were recorded in the construction industry (6.35%) and building automation (5.50%) in Southeast Asia.
Malware for AutoCAD
The percentage of ICS computers on which malware for AutoCAD was blocked increased to 0.30%.
The most notable increase over the quarter was observed in Africa, with the region’s percentage figure rising by 0.47 pp, a very significant increase for this category, and almost doubling (to 0.91%).
Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for AutoCAD malware were recorded in the construction industry in East Asia (5.58%) and Southeast Asia (3.87%).
Main threat sources
In Q1 2026, the average percentages across all threat sources, except threats from the internet, decreased globally.
Percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects from various sources were blocked
Internet
The percentage of ICS computers on which threats from the internet were blocked increased to 7.88%. However, over the past three years, the percentage figure for internet threats has followed a downward trend.
The largest increases in the percentages were recorded in Southern Europe (8.59%, +0.59 pp), Southeast Asia (10.16%, +0.55 pp), and Northern Europe (4.47%, +0.51 pp).
Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for threats from the internet were recorded in electric power (13.16%) and construction (12.55%) in Southeast Asia, and in the engineering and ICS integration sector (12.33%) in South Asia.
Email clients
The percentage of ICS computers on which threats delivered via email clients were blocked decreased to 2.59%. This is a three-year low.
The percentage of this threat source increased in three regions: Southern Europe (6.54%, +0.2 pp), East Asia (1.5%, +0.09 pp), and slightly in Russia (0.7%, +0.04 pp).
Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for email threats were recorded for biometric systems (19.78%) and building automation (12.34%) in Southern Europe. In these two industries, the percentage of ICS computers on which email threats are blocked is higher than the percentage for threats from the internet. A similar situation was observed in two other instances, both in biometric systems (in South America and Southeast Asia).
Removable media
The percentage of ICS computers on which threats were detected when connecting removable media continued to decrease, reaching its lowest value for the period under review (0.26%).
Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for removable media threats blocked on ICS computers were observed in the electric power sector in Central Asia and the South Caucasus (1.45%), East Asia (1.34%), and Africa (1.16%).
Network folders
The percentage of ICS computers on which threats are blocked in network folders is steadily decreasing. In Q1 2026, it was the lowest for the period under review (0.029%).
East Asia has traditionally led by a wide margin. The percentage for East Asia (0.135%) is 27 times higher than the lowest regional value (recorded in Northern Europe).
The largest increases in the percentages for threats from network folders were observed in Africa (0.037%, +0.006 pp) and South America (0.013%, +0.006 pp).
Among the selected industries across all regions, the construction industry in East Asia, at 0.36%, holds the top positions in the ranking by the percentage of ICS computers on which threats are blocked in network folders.
For the past four years, a sprawling Android-based botnet called Popa has forced millions of consumer TV boxes to relay Internet traffic linked to advertising fraud, account takeovers, and mass data-scraping efforts. This week, researchers from multiple security firms concluded that the Popa botnet is linked to NetNut, a “residential proxy” provider operated by the publicly-traded Israeli firm Alarum Technologies Ltd [NASDAQ: ALAR].
Malicious streaming devices sold online that enroll the user’s home Internet address in a residential proxy service. Image: HUMAN Security.
Popa is a massive botnet, but by all accounts it is unlike traditional botnets that enlist compromised systems in destructive activities, such as coordinating huge distributed denial-of-service attacks. Rather, Popa appears designed with a singular purpose: Implementing a persistent communications layer capable of registering a device, maintaining long-lived encrypted connections, and opening communication tunnels on demand.
Experts say Popa is a plugin component associated with the Vo1d botnet, a large-scale malware campaign targeting unofficial Android-based TV boxes. These devices, which are marketed under thousands of brand names and model numbers and broadly available for purchase at top e-commerce destinations, all advertise the ability to stream hundreds of subscription video services for an up front one-time fee.
But as the FBI and security industry experts have warned repeatedly, these streaming boxes typically bundle or come pre-installed with software that turns the user’s TV into a “residential proxy” — allowing anyone to route their Internet traffic through that device for as long as it remains plugged into a wall socket and connected to a local network. More concerning, some of these proxy networks do little to stop malicious customers from communicating with and even compromising systems on the local network of the unsuspecting device owner.
The first clues about Popa’s origins came in a 2025 report from the Chinese security company XLAB, which flagged at least nine domain names that were used to register and direct the activities of compromised devices. In a report released today, the security firm Qurium described how it stumbled on some of those same domains while investigating a series of disruptive and expensive data scraping events targeting the company’s hosted organizations in May 2026, in which the scraping activity was scattered evenly across more than 1.4 million Internet addresses.
Qurium said it found several dozen domains used to control Popa that were all hosted in lockstep across multiple Internet addresses over time, including gmslb[.]net, safernetwork[.]io, tera-home[.]com, and ninjatech[.]io. Digging deeper, Qurium discovered gmslb[.]net was referenced in dozens of pirated or modded video content streaming apps, such as CRICFy, DooFlix, Sprozfy, RTS Tv, Flixoid, CyberFlix, Rapid Streamz, TvMob and HD/OceanStreams.
Qurium’s report notes that most of the domains long used to control the Popa botnet were seized or dismantled in July 2025, after Google, HUMAN Security and Trend Micro teamed up to disrupt Badbox 2.0, a botnet that is closely associated with Vo1d. Qurium said that immediately after that disruption, several dozen new domains were registered to serve as controllers for the Popa botnet, but that one of those control domains was not new: ninjatech[.]io.
Ninjatech is a company founded by Moishi Kramer, whose LinkedIn profile says he is vice president of research and development at NetNut. That resume credits Kramer for helping NetNut to build from the “ground up,” “designing the architecture,” and “scaling the NetNut” before the company was acquired by Alarum Technologies. A self-created listing at the job board F6Sreferences Kramer as the sole owner of the Ninjatech domain (a screen capture of it is pictured below).
Image: F6S.com.
Responding via email, Mr. Kramer said Ninjatech ceased operations approximately five years ago, when the company sold a software development kit (SDK) called Popa that was designed to use a small portion of a device’s bandwidth and to run only after the host application obtained user consent.
“That code was sold and licensed to third parties including resellers years ago,” Kramer said. “Once software is distributed that way, the original developer has no control over how others later modify, rebrand, or deploy it.”
Kramer said neither he nor NetNut builds, operates or maintains the infrastructure being described as Popa, nor does he control the Ninjatech domain.
“I didn’t register the June 2025 domains you mention, and I don’t know who did,” he continued. “I have no control over, or visibility into, that infrastructure. I can only tell you it isn’t operated by me or by NetNut.”
But in a separate Popa research report released today, the proxy-tracking company Synthient said a recent analysis of the Popa SDK revealed outbound traffic clearly associated with NetNut.
“The research team assesses with high confidence that devices running Popa forward traffic from Netnut clients,” Synthient wrote. “This proves without a shadow of a doubt that Popa actively continues to be used by NetNut as part of their proxy pool.”
Synthient’s platform receiving outbound traffic from Popa. Image: Synthient.com.
Alarum Technologies, NetNut’s Tel Aviv-based parent company, said the reports by Synthient and Qurium contained “demonstrably inaccurate assertions and flawed deductions rather than verified facts.” Alarum shared a statement saying they reject the basic characterization of the SDKs and technologies discussed in the reports as a “botnet.”
“The SDKs at issue are designed to facilitate bandwidth-sharing functionality and do not transform user devices into malware-controlled systems or otherwise compromise the devices on which they operate,” the statement reads. “Netnut operates a commercial proxy network and maintains policies, procedures, and technological measures designed to promote lawful and responsible use of its services.”
Alarum said NetNut places “significant emphasis on appropriate notice and consent mechanisms, conducts customer due diligence, monitors for potential misuse, and takes steps intended to detect and mitigate suspicious or unauthorized activity.”
“This method of operation is supported both by internal procedures and policies, including performing KYC checks and additional due diligence of NetNut’s customers, as well as employing various technological measures, designed to assist in identifying and addressing suspected misuse of the network,” their statement continued.
However, in a report released on June 8, the proxy tracking service Spur asserted that NetNut does not require corporate verification or meaningful “know your customer” procedures before allowing customers to purchase proxy access.
“An individual can sign up, pay, and route traffic through partner address space, including space belonging to institutions whose users never opted in,” Spur wrote. “The ‘verified corporations only’ claim is simply marketing for bandwidth sellers, not an access control on who actually uses the proxies.”
“Nor is NetNut the only front door,” Spur continued. “A number of downstream white labelers and resellers repackage the same ISP proxy pool under their own brands. These outlets typically perform no KYC at all, less scrutiny than NetNut itself, who at the very least might assign an account manager to potential users. Anyone who knows where to look can buy access through a reseller with nothing more than a burner email address and $5 in crypto.”
Synthient found that although the most recent builds of Popa (as of three months ago) have added the ability to ask the user for consent before installing proxy components, not all variants or previous versions of Popa contain this functionality.
“Of the over 20 genuine Popa publishers analyzed, none of them were observed asking for user consent,” Sythient wrote.
THE PREVALENCE OF POPA
Chris Formosa is senior lead information security engineer for Black Lotus Labs, a division of the Internet backbone carrier Lumen Technologies.
“What especially makes Popa dangerous is just how widely used NetNut is for reselling and sharing,” Formosa said, explaining that many other proxy services simply resell NetNut proxies rather than building out their own far-flung proxy networks. “So these Popa IPs appear in tons of different services all over the ecosystem, which makes it one of the most problematic and dangerous proxy botnets on the market currently.”
Formosa said the Popa botnet averages between 1.5 million to 2.5 million distinct IP addresses each day, relying on between 250 and 300 Internet addresses that are used to direct its activities.
“That’s why Popa is so dangerous,” Formosa said. “It may not be the largest botnet we have seen, but it is spread all over the industry, making its power very amplified.”
Formosa said while that makes Popa one of the larger botnets out there today, its numbers pale in comparison to those previously boasted by IPIDEA, a China-based proxy provider that until recently operated a daily pool of nearly 10 million devices that they resold as proxies to anyone. In January 2026, Synthient published research showing that multiple new large DDoS botnets had grown rapidly by tunneling through IPIDEA proxies into the local networks of unsuspecting TV box owners and infecting other Android-based devices behind the user’s firewall.
IPIDEA is based largely on SDKs used to view pirated streaming content on a vast number of TV box devices, but the service’s numbers have dwindled since January, when Google and industry partners took legal action to seize domain names that IPIDEA used to control devices and proxy traffic through them.
Jérôme Meyer, a security researcher at Nokia Deepfield, said the total population of devices participating in the Popa botnet may be far higher than Lumen’s estimates. Meyer told KrebsOnSecurity that Nokia is monitoring 26 of at least 359 known relay nodes for the botnet, and estimates that each relay node handles between 35,000 and 60,000 clients simultaneously.
“On the relay node subset I am looking at (26 of them), 750,000 unique sources in 24 hours,” Meyer wrote in response to questions.
Nokia Deepfield released its own report today on RoboVPN, a VPN app tied to the Vo1d botnet’s Popa plugin that Qurium attributes to NetNut/Alarum Technologies.
THE SYMBIOSIS OF PROXIES AND DATA SCRAPING
Experts say many of the world’s largest proxy providers have updated their public-facing branding to highlight their utility for training AI platforms, implying it is a primary use case for their residential proxies. That’s because AI services tend to rely on constantly mass-scraping the Internet for new text, images and video content that can be used to train large language models (LLMs).
NetNut and other proxy services have recast themselves as critical infrastructure for the AI scraping economy. Image: Synthient.com.
“AI companies depend on web-scraped content: for pre-training, for retrieval, for agent grounding, for search,” reads a report this month from Include Security that examines the prevalence of proxy SDKs in smart TV apps. “But the modern web isn’t scrapeable from a datacenter. Cloudflare, DataDome, HUMAN, among others throttle or block requests from known cloud IPs. The workaround is residential proxies. A scraping job routed through a Comcast or T-Mobile subscriber’s connection arrives at the target site from an IP that belongs to a paying residential customer.”
This non-stop content scraping has spawned more than 70 copyright infringement lawsuits against major tech companies that have acknowledged large-scale data scraping as a major source of the “brains” behind their commercial AI offerings. Ironically, much of that scraping is being aided by proxy services that are intimately tied to unofficial Android TV boxes and associated SDKs whose stated purpose is streaming pirated content.
The scraping activity has become so aggressive that it often overwhelms the targeted websites, preventing them from being reachable by legitimate visitors. In many reported cases, nonprofit organizations, libraries and universities have complained of constantly battling to keep their services online in the face of relentless data-scraping firms hiding behind residential proxy services.
A survey conducted last year by the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) found while some content scraping bots are rather innocuous, “others are sufficiently aggressive that they are increasingly causing service disruptions in repositories and other scholarly communications infrastructures.” More than 90 percent of survey respondents indicated their repository is encountering aggressive bots, usually more than once a week, and often leading to slow downs and service outages.
“Automated web scraping is nothing new, and has been the key technology underlying search engines such as Google for over 30 years,” wroteBrendan O’Connell, platform manager at the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), a free, community-curated index of peer-reviewed academic journals. “However, the current investor-fueled AI startup craze means there are now thousands of well-funded companies developing and deploying their own scraping tools to train AI models, alongside existing major players like OpenAI and Google.”
DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL!
Across the United States, local communities are pushing back against the proliferation of new data centers aimed primarily at improving the capabilities of AI. But security experts say the general public remains largely unaware that using one of these unsanctioned Android TV boxes means their “smart TV” is almost certainly using a significant amount of bandwidth each month to help train modern AI models.
Even households without these sketchy TV boxes can still have their smart TVs turned into residential proxy nodes, just by downloading one of thousands of apps made available on Samsung and LG smart TVs. Spur said it recently scraped the LG and Samsung app stores and found that each had approximately 3,000 apps available for download. Many of these apps are simple games or utilities that state in the fine print that the user’s Internet connection will be used to download data and that they can opt out at any time.
Spur said it found that more than 42 percent of apps available for download via the webOS operating system on LG smart TVs include SDKs that turn one’s television into an always-on residential proxy node. More than a quarter of the apps made for Samsung’s Tizen operating system had similar residential proxy components, Spur found.
Image: Spur.us.
Experts say it’s questionable whether TV apps with proxy SDKs can obtain meaningful consent from users for installing an always-on proxy connection, particularly when anyone in a household — including children — can effectively opt the family TV into a residential proxy network just by installing a simple game or app.
“Privacy-policy disclosure is the wrong control surface for a TV,” Include Security wrote. “It is hard to scroll through a legal document navigated by arrow keys on a remote, and the in-app consent dialog doesn’t convey that a paying customer is about to route their scraping traffic through the user’s home internet.”
Spur’s head of research Sean Simmons told KrebsOnSecurity that most people do not have a working mental model for what it means to sell access to their residential IP address, no matter what device they are using.
“And on a TV, the gap is even wider,” Simmons said. “A one-time prompt navigated with a remote can disappear into the setup flow, while the app keeps monetizing the connection long after anyone remembers what they accepted.”
Simmons said LG and Samsung should follow the lead of other TV platforms that have already drawn a line against residential proxy providers, pointing to policies by Amazon that prohibit apps facilitating proxy services for third parties. Likewise the TV streaming device maker Roku reportedly now bars developers from using proxy SDKs and has removed apps that bundled them.
Apps that turn one’s device into a residential proxy node are not limited to smart TVs and no-name streaming boxes, of course. As noted by the security firm Infoblox, mobile app developers can embed SDKs provided by the residential proxy networks into their products to monetize their software, allowing them to receive a small amount of money on each installation.
The result, Infoblox said, is that devices are frequently enrolled without the owner’s knowledge, typically through free applications such as VPNs, streaming apps, screensavers and “productivity” apps such as PDF viewers and break reminders.
All too often, these proxy services are beaconing out from employee devices brought into the workplace, Infoblox found. In a blog post earlier this month, Infoblox said it discovered that fully 65% of its customer base was querying one or more residential proxy related domains.
“We saw steady growth in these queries in 2025, with a 25% increase over the year to over 500 billion per month,” Infoblox wrote. “Over 90% of our pharmaceutical and food & beverage customers have queried residential proxy indicators. Perhaps even more concerning is that over 60% of government and banking customers have as well.”
Infoblox researchers Nick Sundvall and David Brunsdon warned that with residential proxies in the corporate environment, external access is granted to an organization’s IP space.
“If threat actors were to abuse the residential proxy to attack a third party, the third party’s incident response would, correctly, identify your residential proxy as the source,” they wrote. “Untangling that, by proving that you were the conduit and not the threat actor, costs time, creates legal exposure, and can damage your reputation. The stunning prevalence of these services within customer environments warrants attention from both network defenders and policy makers who should consider how the risks posed by residential proxies could be impacting their security posture.”
Not sure this will have any effect, but I support the effort:
According to Google’s legal filing, Outsider Enterprise operates through Telegram. The group offers phishing-as-a-service to individuals who may not be technically savvy enough to set up fraudulent websites and text campaigns on their own. In its Telegram channels, Outsider Enterprise reportedly provided instructions on how to use Google’s Gemini AI to create websites that imitate those of Google, YouTube, and government agencies such as New York’s E-ZPass. The group offered nearly 300 scam templates.
[…]
Google worked with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to block many of these malicious text messages, and Google notes that its on-device scam detection in Google Messages probably helped reduce the number of successful phishing attempts, too. This AI-powered feature apparently stops 10 billion scam texts every month, so it’s fair to expect it caught at least some Outsider Enterprise activity.
Account theft usually ends with someone losing a password. This one ends with hackers walking off with the entire game.
Developers behind some of Roblox’s millions of games told 404 Media that attackers persuaded them to run a single file. Then they watched their group, their game, and their Robux (in-platform currency) balance vanish into someone else’s account within hours. In several cases, Roblox support didn’t help them get the games back until a reporter called the company for comment.
From beaming to hostile takeover
Roblox attacks used to be opportunistic. “Beamers” targeted individual players to steal rare hats, limited items, and accounts, then resold them. The pattern has shifted. The new targets are developer accounts, and the prize is the game itself.
Ioannis Matziaris told 404 Media that his two 20-year-old sons spent five years building a Roblox game called The Shadow Network. In April, attackers approached one of them with a job offer and convinced him to run a particular file. It was malware. The attackers stole control of the game, the group’s Roblox account, and their Robux balance.
Another developer, Jovan Rai, received the same project-manager job pitch. This time, the attackers were impersonating Cheesy Studios, the Matziaris brothers’ company, to lend the offer credibility. The 15-year-old was earning roughly 10,000 Robux (around $38) per day from his game. He spent more than 30 days trying to recover it through Roblox support before media attention helped move the case forward.
The malware behind the theft
Developer Mohamed Kaparoza described how the attack worked. Attackers contacted him on Discord, dangled a project-manager role, and asked him to install a Python package called “robase,” which they claimed was a database tool. Shortly after installing it, he was logged out of Roblox on both his PC and his phone. His Discord account went with it, and his two-step verification settings and passkey were changed.
This is a case of session-token theft, rather than credential theft. Once an infostealer steals an authenticated browser session, attackers can often bypass security measures such as two-factor authentication (2FA) because they are reusing a session that has already been authenticated.
The technique itself isn’t new. We reported on a similar campaign in January 2025 that targeted Roblox players with offers to beta test new games. The “installer” was actually an infostealer designed to steal data, including Discord and Steam sessions, and cryptocurrency wallet information.
What developers can do
If you build Roblox games, the defensive advice is unglamorous and mostly behavioral.
Treat unsolicited Discord job offers with caution. If a stranger asks you to install a “database tool,” a custom installer, or any file at all, do not run it.
Developers who need to test unfamiliar software should do so in an isolated environment, such as a virtual machine, rather than on a device where they are signed in to Roblox, Discord, GitHub, or other important accounts.
Review active Roblox sessions and signed-in devices regularly, and switch on Roblox’s Enhanced Protection features where available. They won’t stop session-stealer malware, but they can help protect against many other forms of account compromise.
If the worst happens, document everything as early as possible. Keep records of messages, screenshots, account changes, and support requests to help with any recovery process.
Use security software with real-time protection. Malwarebytes Premium can detect and block infostealers and other malware before they compromise your accounts.
We don’t just report on threats—we remove them
Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your devices by downloading Malwarebytes today.
With the World Cup on, you’ll find no shortage of websites promising every match, live, in HD, for free. They look convincing, usually with a video player, a “Live Stream Available” indicator, a row of server buttons, maybe a match schedule, and a “Watch Live” button. There’s no signup, no paywall, and seemingly, no catch.
But of course there’s a catch. These sites aren’t really in the business of streaming football. What the page is really built to do is fire pop-ups, hidden ads, and redirects through an advertising network we detect as malicious. Instead of watching the match, visitors end up facing scams, malware, and fraudulent downloads.
Here’s how the scam works and how to stay out of it.
If they’re not real streaming sites, what are they?
We’ve identified more than 40 websites that are effectively identical. They use different World Cup-themed names, but behind the scenes they’re running the same page template, the same code, and the same advertising infrastructure.
A script generates a separate page for every match, making the operation cheap to run and easy to scale.
When a stream appears at all, it’s usually embedded from a third-party piracy service. The real business is the advertising surrounding the player.
A typical page loads eight or more ad and tracking scripts from the same shady network, plus a handful of other ad domains. The hub the whole page is wired to is a domain we detect as malicious. Your data is the product; the “stream” is the bait.
Why these sites are dangerous, not just annoying
It’s tempting to shrug this off as the usual price of free streams. But it’s worse than facing a few annoying ads.
The real threat is the ad network. This isn’t mainstream, vetted advertising. The kind of ad network we flag as malicious is a common delivery route for the stuff that causes harm: fake virus warnings, bogus software update prompts that install malware, fake prize and verification pages, and forced redirects into subscription traps.
The video window itself is untrusted. The stream is pulled from a third-party piracy service, not anything the site controls or vets. Pirated stream embeds are a well-known source of their own ads, redirects, and hidden clickable overlays, so even the part that looks like a video player can be working against you.
There’s nobody behind the counter. These are anonymous, disposable sites built around a major sporting event. There’s no real company, no support, no accountability, and no reason for them to care what lands on your screen.
It’s the oldest play in the scam handbook: take something millions of people want right now, present it nicely, and monetize the rush. Scammers don’t create the demand, they just stand in front of it with a bucket and collect payment.
How it works (a quick technical version)
The first tap is hijacked. A script waits for your first click or tap anywhere on the page and uses it to open an ad in a new tab or window, often in the background. Before you’ve watched a second of football, you’ve already triggered an ad.
The “Play” button is a maze. Clicking Play doesn’t play anything. Instead, you’re sent through prompts like “Click Resume to continue” before you might reach a video. Every extra step is another click, and each click triggers more ads.
Invisible ads load. The page quietly loads tiny, invisible 1×1-pixel ads and opens more tabs. These exist purely to generate paid ad views. The tactic has many of the hallmarks of ad fraud, and you’re the unwitting traffic. More ads are injected into the player area the moment you try to watch.
The stream is an afterthought. Often there’s no working stream at all, so the page loops you through “Streams loading… Retry,” which means more clicks and more ads. Whether you ever see the match or not, the ads have already cashed in.
What the ads are serving up
The code fires the ads; but here’s what comes out the other end. On these pages, the injected ads tend to fall into two buckets, and neither has anything to do with football.
The first is fake message notifications: little pop-ups designed to look like real chat alerts, complete with a stranger’s photo and messages such as “Seen my message yet? Let’s talk!” Some include fake voice messages or explicit thumbnails. They’re made to look like notifications you’ve forgotten to check so you’ll click them.
The second is crypto bait. These ads promote “play-to-earn” games with promises of daily rewards, surprise drops, massive airdrops, and eye-catching claims like a “124% APY yield engine.”
One warning sign is the promise of guaranteed triple-digit returns and free money for tapping a button. That’s not how legitimate financial products work.
That’s the whole machine working end to end: football is the doorway, the malicious advertising network is the engine, and the scams are what it’s actually selling.
How to watch the World Cup safely
These “Free HD stream, every match, no catch” sites use football as bait to funnel visitors through a malicious advertising network. Here’s how to stay safe:
Use official broadcasters and streaming services. That’s where the legal and safe coverage lives.
Treat “every match, free, HD, no signup” as a red flag. Broadcast rights are expensive. If a random website is giving everything away for free, it’s making money some other way.
Don’t follow a maze of interactions. If a streaming site opens pop-ups, launches extra tabs, or sends you through endless “click to continue” screens, close it.
Never trust warnings or download prompts on these sites. Don’t download anything, install anything, or enter any information.
Block ads and trackers in the browser. A tool like Malwarebytes Browser Guard can block the advertising and tracking domains these sites rely on, helping stop pop-ups and redirects before they load.
Keep your software up to date. Browser and operating system updates often fix security vulnerabilities that attackers try to exploit.
Use up-to-date, real-time anti-malware. If you do click something malicious, products like Malwarebytes Premium can block and remove malware before it causes damage.
Online gamers should watch out for a convincing scam that aims to steal your Steam account.
The scam uses fake FACEIT verification pages that look legitimate, complete with official branding, working links, and what appears to be a real Steam login window. By the time it asks for your password, many victims are convinced they’re interacting with a genuine service.
The goal is to steal your Steam account.
Why this scam targets FACEIT players
If you’re not a competitive gamer, FACEIT might not mean anything to you. But to millions of people, it’s a big deal, and that makes it a target for impersonation by cybercriminals.
FACEIT is one of the largest competitive gaming platforms for Counter-Strike 2 (CS2). Millions of players use it for ranked matches, tournaments, leagues, and advanced anti-cheat protections.
To use FACEIT, players typically connect their Steam platform accounts, which are valuable for scammers.
A stolen Steam account can contain:
Hundreds or thousands of dollars’ worth of purchased games
Valuable CS2 skins and items, some worth significant amounts of real money
Wallet funds and saved payment methods
Years of friends, messages, and community reputation
Once criminals gain access, they can steal items, scam friends, or sell the account on criminal marketplaces.
Because FACEIT connects to Steam, a fake “FACEIT verification” page is an easy way to trick people. Victims think they’re updating their account, but attackers are really trying to steal Steam accounts that may contain valuable games, skins, and wallet funds. Gamers are especially vulnerable because they’re used to linking accounts and following verification steps, and may act quickly if they think their access to a game is at risk.
How the scam works
The attack starts with a website that looks like an official FACEIT page. The scam pages are likely distributed through the same channels gamers use every day: community forums, chat servers, social media posts, and direct messages.
The page claims FACEIT is offering free, optional identity verification to help build a more trusted community. It’s polished, uses the correct branding, and even includes working links to FACEIT’s real blog and support pages. Everything about it is designed to make you think you’re on a genuine FACEIT website, but you’re not.
Fake FACEIT verification page
Instead of using the official faceit.com domain, the scammers use lookalike addresses such as:
faceit-discord.com
faceit-clubs-verify.com
faceit-verification-clubs.com
The extra words like “verification” or “discord,” are designed to make these addresses look legitimate at a glance, but they’re sites that are controlled by cybercriminals.
Many of these domains are only days or even hours old. Scammers constantly register new ones, knowing they’ll likely be blocked eventually. That’s why a site not being flagged as dangerous doesn’t mean it’s safe.
There are small clues, though. In one example, the page listed both “Copyright 2024” and “Copyright 2025.” Legitimate companies rarely make mistakes like that, but scam sites often do.
After the verification pitch, the page claims there’s a problem with your CS2 account and asks you to update your information to prove you’re not a cheater or using a smurf account.
Here’s the clever part. The QR code appears blurry and difficult to scan. Researchers believe that’s intentional. After a few failed attempts, many users are likely to give up and click the easier-looking “Sign in through Steam” button instead.
The broken QR code is the nudge that guides victims toward the part of the page where the real theft happens.
Fake FACEIT page with a blurry QR code and “Sign in with Steam” button
When users eventually give up on the QR code and click the button, a Steam login window appears. It looks convincing, complete with the Steam logo, login fields, and what appears to be a steamcommunity.com address bar.
But the window is fake.
Fake Steam sign-in window steals your account details
Instead of opening a real Steam login page, the scammers display a convincing copy inside the website itself. Security researchers call this a Browser-in-the-Browser attack. The fake window looks and behaves like a genuine browser pop-up, but the address bar is just part of the image.
Anything entered into the form goes straight to the criminals. If the page also asks for a Steam Guard code, that gets stolen too, allowing attackers to access the account. Some victims are then tricked into “protecting” their items by transferring them to a friend or backup account, when they’re actually sending them directly to the scammers.
How to protect yourself against this scam
A few simple habits can stop this scam:
Check the real address bar. FACEIT’s official website is faceit.com. Be wary of lookalike domains such as faceit-discord.com or faceit-clubs-verify.com. Remember: a login window inside a webpage can fake its own address bar. Trust the one at the top of your browser, not the one inside the page.
Be suspicious of blurry QR codes. Researchers believe the QR code in this scam is deliberately blurred to push users toward the “Sign in through Steam” button instead.
Treat urgency as a warning sign. Messages about account problems, verification, or losing access are designed to make you act quickly. Slow down and verify first.
Go to the source. If you’re unsure whether FACEIT or Steam needs something from you, open the official website or app yourself rather than following links from Discord, messages, or ads.
Add another layer of protection. Scam sites often look legitimate. Malwarebytes Browser Guard can help block known phishing pages and other online scams before you enter your username and password.
If you already entered your details
Change your Steam password immediately, make sure Steam Guard is enabled, and sign out of all other devices. Check your Steam API key settings and remove any key you don’t recognize. Change the password anywhere else you reused it and review your account for unauthorized trades or purchases.
Why this scam works
This scam works because it doesn’t look like a scam. The branding is convincing, the story makes sense, and even the Steam login window appears legitimate.
Most people know to check the address bar before entering a password. Browser-in-the-Browser attacks are designed to defeat that habit. Because the fake Steam window is built into the page itself, the criminals can make its address bar say whatever they want, including steamcommunity.com.
The safest approach is to be suspicious of any login window that appears inside another website. If you’re unsure, close the page and sign in to Steam the way you normally would, through the official app or by typing the address yourself.
That small pause, that refusal to take the convenient shortcut a page is pushing you toward, is all it takes to keep your account yours.
Stop threats before they can do any harm.
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Short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels have become the latest way cybercriminals spread malware.
We’ve already seen attackers move away from traditional phishing emails and toward tactics that trick people into installing malware themselves. Now they’re being lured with slick social media videos that promise free Spotify Premium, free Windows activation, or free Microsoft Office, but instead leave people with infostealers on their Windows devices.
Researchers at ReversingLabs uncovered two active campaigns that use short videos to trick users into running dangerous PowerShell commands or visiting malicious download sites. Similar campaigns have been reported by other researchers and national cybersecurity agencies, suggesting a growing trend: Cybercriminals are learning how to use social media algorithms just as effectively as marketers.
In true social media fashion, the videos on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels claim to solve a problem you didn’t know you had. The catch is that following the instructions delivers malware to your device.
How the scam works
The first campaign looks deceptively professional.
Accounts with names like “windows.tips” or “windows.insights” use Windows-style branding and post polished tutorial videos that resemble genuine tech support content. The videos are tagged with Windows and Office-related keywords so they appear alongside legitimate troubleshooting and tips content.
The videos promise to unlock Spotify Premium, Microsoft Office, or Windows for free. Viewers are then guided through step-by-step instructions that include opening Powershell, a legitimate Windows admin tool, and pasting in commands. Those commands download and run malware, much like the ClickFix scams we’ve covered before.
The malware was identified as Vidar, an infostealer designed to steal sensitive informtion from infected devices. Vidar commonly targets:
Saved browser passwords
Autofill data
Browser cookies
Cryptocurrency wallets
Two-factor authentication (2FA) data
TOR browser data
The stolen information is then sent back to servers controlled by the attackers.
How to stay safe
Research into similar TikTok-based attacks shows these scripts commonly add exclusions to Windows Defender, making it harder for security software to detect future malicious activity.
Fortunately, there are a few simple ways to protect yourself:
Only download software from official vendor websites.
Be skeptical of “free”, cracked, or unofficial versions of paid software.
Don’t follow instructions on a webpage without thinking them through, especially if the page asks you to run commands on your device or copy and paste code. Many ClickFix pages use countdowns, fake user counters, or other pressure tactics to make you act quickly.
Check that downloaded files match what you expected to download.
Verify a file’s publisher and digital signature before you run it. On Windows, you can usually check this by right-clicking the file, selecting Properties > Digital Signatures. Keep in mind that a valid signature does not guarantee a file is safe, but missing or suspicious signatures are often a red flag.
Use a real-time, up-to-date anti-malware solution to block malware like infostealers before it runs.
Pro tip: If you’re unsure whether a video, message, or website is legitimate, you can ask Malwarebytes Scam Guard about it. It can help identify suspicious content and advise you on what to do next.
What would you trade for a technology that can do almost anything? For many people, the answer is clear: Everything they thought they could trust.
In a few, short years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have granted people unfettered access to easier writing, faster image generation, quicker coding, and near-instantaneous answers, advice, and information—advantages they value and want. But the same tools that can spruce up a dating profile or reimagine an old photograph can also manipulate the broader world online, and people are noticing.
According to new research from Malwarebytes, 88% of people said it’s becoming harder to tell what content online is genuinely human or real, with 84% saying that “convincing video evidence” no longer feels like proof. Further, 85% said it can be hard to tell scams apart from the real thing—a major uptick from the 66% who said the same thing last year.
These are the first signs of AI’s counterfeit world. Replete with fake websites, fake products, fake videos, fake pictures, fake voices, and even fake people, it is threatening to swallow the web.
The damage arrives in large moments and small, from the US parent who said they “received a voicemail that sounded exactly like my son’s voice, saying he was in trouble and needed money for legal fees,” to the two entirely unrelated respondents fooled by the same AI-generated video of rabbits bouncing on a trampoline, to the individual worried about “my grandfather showing me AI slop and he thought it was real.”
For this research, Malwarebytes surveyed 1,500 adults aged 18 and older across the US, UK, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland about their uses, feelings, and concerns regarding AI. The sample was equally split for gender with a spread of ages, geographical regions, and race groups, and weighted to provide a balanced view.
The complete findings can be found in the full report:
88% said it’s becoming harder to tell what content online is genuinely human or real
84% said convincing video evidence no longer feels like proof
85% of people said it’s hard to tell a scam from the real thing (up from 66% last year)
50% have experienced some form of AI fraud or scam, such as being misled by AI-generated photos of products or receiving a highly personalized scam message
19% have specifically experienced some form of AI-driven identity harm, including the 10% who have had someone use AI to generate sexually explicit content of them without permission
81% fear someone stealing their family’s likeness, yet only 13% have created a family codeword to guard against it
67% worry about voice cloning, yet only 19% have turned off voicemail recordings to prevent it
45% say it’s okay to use AI for personal emotional tasks (like writing wedding vows or a eulogy)
34% say it’s okay to use AI to help create or improve a dating profile
One in three self-avowed daily users of AI said it’s okay to generate explicit images of someone without their consent
Defeat would be the wrong lesson to take from all this. It is true now that the internet requires assistance, but there are plenty of safe places to seek help.
While Malwarebytes works to provide new tools, we’d like to remind both the AI anxious and the eager about the first rule of the internet: Remember the human. People’s voices, bodies, choices, and agency belong to them and them alone.
As for every fake video, product, website, and image, understand that there’s help. No one needs to navigate an artificial internet alone. Whether through scam detection, identity protection, and simple awareness, people have more options than they may realize.
Those losses stem from 22,364 AI-related complaints. And these figures represent only the reported losses, which may well be the proverbial tip of the iceberg.
The main drivers behind the rise in AI-powered scams are voice cloning, deepfake images and videos, and AI‑generated scripts. These tools have supercharged classic fraud schemes such as romance scams, kidnapping and extortion calls, fake influencers, and government impersonation.
Michael Machtinger, deputy assistant director of the FBI Cyber Division, told the Wall Street Journal:
“AI-created fraudulent communications can look very official and very legitimate to even the most trained individuals.”
The FBI and financial institutions recommend verifying identities via official contact channels. One of their biggest concerns is government impersonation scams, which have evolved from crude IRS gift‑card phone calls into sophisticated, multi‑channel operations that combine spoofed caller ID, stolen agency logos, and AI‑generated audio and video of public officials.
This report, and others like it, shows how AI is being weaponized to automate research on victims, generate convincing scripts, and create highly believable deepfake personas at scale.
AI is also increasingly used in business email compromise (BEC), romance scams, and impersonation fraud. In BEC cases involving AI, losses have already reached tens of millions of dollars for businesses alone.
For a broader look at why AI is simultaneously fueling scams like these and becoming indispensable to defending against them, see my article AI: Threat, tool, or both?
It explains how both defenders and criminals use AI to find vulnerabilities, and why security vendors increasingly rely on AI to process vast amounts of telemetry, detect anomalies, and keep pace with threats that “no longer move at human speed.”
How to stay safe
Consumer protection agencies have documented a growing list of the ways scammers are using AI to try to rip people off. The main problem is that we can no longer take it at face value that the person we’re talking to is who they claim to be.
Government agencies and financial institutions recommend that you:
Be skeptical of urgent payment demands, especially those involving cryptocurrency or gift cards
Limit the amount of voice and video content you share publicly, as it can be reused by scammers
Report incidents quickly to your bank(s) and IC3.gov
Pro tip: Malwarebytes Scam Guard can help you determine whether a message is a scam and guide you through the next steps.
Something feel off? Check it before you click.
Malwarebytes Scam Guard helps you analyze suspicious links, texts, and screenshots instantly.
Planning a holiday should be exciting, fun, and not a cybersecurity risk. But booking flights, hotels, and rental properties often means sharing sensitive personal and financial information across multiple platforms. Combined with frequent travel scams and recurring data breaches in the travel and hospitality sector, it creates plenty of opportunities for criminals.
This guide covers the most common risks when making travel reservations and explains how to avoid them. Save the adventure for your destination.
Travel bookings combine high-value payments with urgency and emotional decision-making. Attackers love that for several reasons:
Large upfront payments make scams profitable.
Booking confirmations often contain valuable personal data, such as names, travel dates, contact details, and sometimes passport information.
Travel and hospitality companies are frequent breach targets due to complex IT environments and third-party integrations.
Recent years have seen repeated breaches involving hotel chains, booking platforms, cruise operators, and airlines, exposing everything from email addresses to passport numbers.
Common travel-related scams
Fake booking websites
Attackers create convincing clones of airline, hotel, and travel booking websites, often promoted through online ads or SEO poisoning (manipulating search engine results). Victims enter payment details, receive fake confirmations, and only discover the fraud later.
Emails, texts, or messaging app notifications may claim there’s a problem with your booking and urge you to click a link, open an attachment, or call a number. The scammers often impersonate legitimate travel brands and may include real stolen data from previous breaches.
Earlier this year, we wrote about a Booking.com breach that provided scammers with a lot of useful information that could make their messages appear more convincing.
Vacation rental fraud
Scammers post fake listings or hijack legitimate ones on rental platforms. They typically encourage off-platform communication or payments to avoid built-in protections.
In 2024, one of our researchers encountered exactly this type of scam. A supposedly legitimate Airbnb listing in Amsterdam turned out to be fake, and the scammer sent an email claiming to be from TripAdvisor in an attempt to collect payment details.
“Too good to be true” deals
Deep discounts on flights or accommodation are used to lure victims into paying for offers that don’t exist.
If a deal seems unusually generous, look for the catch. Be especially cautious when advertisers claim the offer will end very soon. Creating urgency is one of the oldest tricks in the scammer playbook.
Booking.com has become an increasingly popular brand for scammers to impersonate. According to our—anonymized—Scam Guard data, we’ve recently seen:
Fake cashback emails promising a €435 refund that lead to phishing websites
In-app messages requesting an additional reservation fee
Emails containing PDF attachments that require a “secure viewer,” which turns out to be malware
WhatsApp messages claiming credit card details are missing and directing users to phishing sites
Text messages linking to fake Booking.com pages and demanding card verification before a deadline
The number of scams impersonating Booking.com has been growing. Since the breach disclosed in April, Scam Guard data shows a 56% increase in Booking.com-related scams compared to the previous period, with weekly volume up consistently across five straight weeks.
How to book travel safely
There are a few simple things that can dramatically reduce your risk:
Use secure payment methods. Credit cards offer better fraud protection than debit cards or bank transfers. Never pay anyone asking for payment in cryptocurrencies or gift cards.
Stick to trusted platforms. Even though these are not guaranteed to be safe, using them is better than gambling on an unknown platform.
Don’t click on sponsored search results. I cannot say this often enough.
Verify the existence of the booked accommodation through other channels.
Treat requests to move communication or payment to another platform as suspicious.
Consider urgent language, unexpected attachments, and mismatched sender domains as red flags.
Downloads needed to open an attachment are not to be trusted. These downloads often turn out to be malware. To block and remove malware, use an up-to-date, real-time anti-malware solution.
Pro tip: Malwarebytes Browser Guard will block known phishing websites and can even recognize suspicious websites that are not in our database yet.
We don’t just report on threats—we remove them
Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your devices by downloading Malwarebytes today.
A new batch of fake payment invoices is being staged right now, and we caught the campaign while it was still being put together. The emails impersonate PayPal, Amazon, and Geek Squad, and others, and they all share one goal: to scare you into calling a phone number where a fake “support agent” is waiting.
What makes this wave unusual is that some of the templates we recovered still contained blank fields where the phone number and price should have been, while others were already complete and in circulation. We caught the campaign mid-rollout.
What’s the scam?
If you receive an email that looks like a receipt—“Your subscription renewed for $349,” “You sent a payment of $598.96”—and it tells you to call a number to cancel or dispute the charge, stop.
There is no charge. The email exists to get you on the phone with a scammer who will then try to talk you into handing over remote access to your computer, your card details, or a “refund” that somehow requires you to send them money.
This particular flavor is called a “phantom invoice” or “refund” scam, and the trick is psychological, not technical. That’s why these emails can often slip past spam filters: there’s often no malicious attachment or link for security systems to analyze. The scam is in the phone number you’re urged to call.
If you didn’t make the purchase, there’s no need to call the number in the email to cancel it. Real companies don’t pressure customers into resolving unexpected charges through unsolicited phone numbers.
The goal is simple: create enough concern to get you to call. You see a significant charge you don’t recognize, say $499, and your first instinct is to stop it. The invoice helpfully provides a number to call “if this wasn’t you.” So you call, and now you’re talking to the scammer.
From there, the conversation usually leads to one of a few outcomes. They may ask you to install software so they can “fix” the charge, giving them access to your computer. They may ask for your card or bank details to “process the refund.” Or they may “accidentally” refund too much and ask you to send the difference back, usually by gift card or bank transfer.
The invoice is just the bait, while the phone call is the trap.
These emails are convincing, and some are already reaching inboxes. The good news is that simply receiving one doesn’t put you at risk. The scam only works if it succeeds in getting you to call the number provided. If you recognize the message as fraudulent and delete it, the attack stops there.
If you did call the number and followed instructions from a scammer, run a virus scan and check your bank accounts. Change your critical passwords, enable multi-factor authentication (MFA), and make sure your security software is up to date.
How we caught it half-built
Most scam investigations start after the damage is done. This one was different. We came across a cluster of nearly identical invoice templates that were clearly part of the same kit, and several of them were incomplete.
Where a finished scam email would show a phone number, some of these showed the literal text #TFN# instead, which is just a placeholder. (“TFN” is the scammers’ shorthand for toll-free number, the callback line they route victims to.) Others left the price as #PRICE#, the date as #DATE#, and the recipient as #EMAIL#. These are merge fields—the blanks a bulk-sending tool fills in automatically before a campaign goes out.
Finding those placeholders still in place told us that the operation was still being assembled. Some templates were still half-finished, while others were already complete and carrying live callback numbers. We’d caught the campaign mid-rollout, between being built and fully launched.
Why these invoices look believable
The scammers use familiar brands such as PayPal, Amazon, and Geek Squad. They’re companies people expect to receive receipts and renewal notices from, which lowers suspicion.
The charges are also carefully chosen. Amounts in the few-hundred-dollar range are large enough to cause concern but still seem plausible as a subscription renewal or online purchase.
Many messages add urgency, telling recipients to call quickly to dispute or cancel the charge. This pressure is designed to stop people from verifying the transaction independently.
Some invoices even combine trusted brands, such as claiming a payment was sent through PayPal to Amazon. Referencing multiple well-known companies makes the message appear more credible.
How to spot a fake invoice
The good news is that these scams share warning signs. Once you know what to look for, they get a lot easier to catch. Watch for any of these:
A charge you don’t remember making. If you don’t recognize the charge, verify it independently through your account or bank. If there’s no record of it, the invoice is likely a lure designed to get you to call.
A ticking clock. “Call within 12 hours,” “cancel before it renews,” or “act immediately” provide fake urgency designed to stop you thinking. Real billing problems can wait while you check.
Brands you trust, used as cover. The more familiar the logo, the less carefully people read. Scammers borrow trust they didn’t earn.
Odd details that don’t quite fit. A PayPal email “from” Amazon, a stray address that belongs to no one, or slightly off wording. Trust the small things that feel wrong.
Pressure to keep you on the phone. Once you call, a real company would never stop you from hanging up to verify, but a scammer will.
If even one of these is present, treat the whole message as suspicious.
Remember the single rule that defeats this entire scam: A genuine company will never rush you onto a call to undo a payment you never made. If you’re not sure whether a charge is real, close the email and check your account the normal way: by typing the company’s website into your browser yourself, or calling the number on the back of your bank card.
Pro tip: Malwarebytes Scam Guard can help spot scams like these and guide you in what to do next, while Browser Guard will block you from accessing scam websites.
What to do if one of these lands in your inbox
If you receive a suspicious invoice like the ones described here, take a few simple precautions:
Don’t call the number. That’s the core of the scam. Legitimate refunds or cancellations don’t require you to call a number from an unsolicited receipt.
Don’t reply or click anything. Treat the message as suspicious, even if it looks legitimate.
Verify charges independently. If you’re concerned a charge might be real, log in directly to PayPal, your bank, or the retailer by typing the address yourself and reviewing your transaction history.
Report it. Forward suspected phishing emails to the impersonated company’s abuse address and, in the US, report them to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Reporting helps disrupt scam operations.
If you already called, end the conversation. Don’t install any software they recommend. If you granted remote access or shared payment information, contact your bank immediately and run a trusted security scan on your device.
Be wary of urgency. Phrases like “within 12 hours” or “cancel now” are designed to pressure you into acting before you think. Take the time to verify the claim independently.
Scammers are increasingly shifting to tactics that software can’t easily inspect. A phone number in an email is difficult for security tools to evaluate, and the actual scam happens over a phone call instead of through a malicious link or attachment.
That’s why finding this campaign during rollout matters. Instead of seeing the damage afterward, we got a look at the preparation: unfinished templates, incomplete details, and the scam kit before it was fully deployed.
The best defense is simple: if an unexpected invoice tells you to call a number immediately, stop and verify the charge independently first.
Indicators of compromise
Domains
invoicepdfin[.]xyz
invoicepdfus[.]xyz
invoicepdfusa[.]xyz
invoicerep[.]xyz
invoicestatement[.]xyz
invoicestm[.]xyz
Callback numbers
804-392-2793
801-640-8589
Something feel off? Check it before you click.
Malwarebytes Scam Guard helps you analyze suspicious links, texts, and screenshots instantly.
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Literally about 1/4 of “their” videos are mine
