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The Secret Santa Scam - Your Holiday Generosity Could Cost You
As the holiday season approaches, many look forward to gift exchanges and the spirit of giving. While Secret Santa traditions are meant to bring joy to friends, families, and workplaces, scammers have found ways to exploit this festive activity. A relatively old scam, often circulating on social media, is turning a beloved…
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‘Vishing’ attacks are using scam phone calls to trick users into giving out personal details
Malware known as FakeCall is causing significant disruption by manipulating incoming calls on smartphones, enabling ‘vishing’ scams aimed at tricking individuals into disclosing personal information. Vishing, or voice phishing, is a scam technique that uses phone calls to fraudulently obtain personal data. Scammers…
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Beware this Google Street View extortion scam: How scammers are using tech to terrify victims
"Hey, I saw you on Google Street View. I know where you live, and unless you send me money, I’m going to leak explicit photos of you." This is the chilling message some women in the Philadelphia area have received recently, marking a new and terrifying evolution in online scams: Google Street View sextortion. What makes…
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Scam of the Month: How celebrity impersonation is exploiting the vulnerable
“Hey, this is Brad Pitt. I’m in the middle of shooting my next big film, but I’ve run into a little problem—I’m all out of film reel. Could you send me a couple hundred dollars to wrap things up? Don’t worry, I’ll pay you back as soon as I’m done!” It sounds absurd, right? But for hundreds of victims caught in the web of…
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One in five U.S. adults have lost money to online scams: How to avoid being next
A new report released by the FBI has revealed that one in five U.S. adults has fallen victim to online scams, losing a grand total of $1.3B to fraudulent schemes in 2023 alone. This alarming statistic is yet another reminder at how prevalent – and lucrative - online scams have become in just a few years. From phishing…
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Michigan woman loses thousands in Gift Card-fuelled Tech Support scam
A Fairfax man, Sunyu Qian, has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a series of scams that defrauded victims of over $1 million. Among these fraudulent schemes, Qian used a sophisticated cyber-security gift card scam that tricked unsuspecting victims into purchasing gift cards to “resolve” fabricated subscription issues. Months…
