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F-Secure's Threat Intelligence team has published a Scam Encyclopedia, a continuously updated guide documenting more than 50 distinct online scam types, from cryptocurrency fraud to social media and shopping schemes. The resource describes each scam from the victim's point of view, detailing what they see, what they're told, and what they're asked to do, rather than explaining the mechanics from a technical standpoint.
Google is rolling out AI-based scam defenses on Android, including cloud-based Gemini analysis of suspicious conversations in Google Messages and on-device Gemini Nano checks on unfamiliar links. The company says its existing detection already flags over 5 million suspected scam calls and texts monthly, and the new cloud protections are opt-in, while on-device chat notification detection expands beyond Pixel to more Android partners later this year.
A joint investigation by Senators Maggie Hassan and Marsha Blackburn into romance scams on Match Group platforms found that Tinder had not updated most of its machine-learning fraud-detection models in years, weakening its ability to catch scammers. Company data cited in the report showed nearly 1.5 million suspected scammers or bad actors on Tinder and Hinge matched with at least one user through the third quarter of 2025, with close to 500,000 going on to exchange contact information with victims.
Smartphone users can significantly reduce spam calls and scam texts using existing settings on iPhone and Android devices, rather than paying for third-party apps. The techniques target common scammer tactics like neighborhood spoofing, where callers fake local area codes, and bulk automated text messaging.
Apate, an Australian company founded by Dali Kaafar, has spent two years building a system that routes scam calls to AI bots designed to keep fraudsters talking indefinitely without ever falling for the con. The company says it now runs roughly 350,000 bots that also infiltrate scam chat groups and respond to fraudulent texts, and the platform is used by banks with support from telecom companies.
A recruiter approached an operations executive with a lucrative senior role or board position offer, which later turned out to be a scam. The incident highlights how scammers target high-level professionals with enticing but false opportunities. The executive, a résumé writer, shared the experience to warn others about these costly schemes.
A technology writer describes receiving a highly personalized PR solicitation email that referenced detailed facts about their book and career, prompting a closer look at how scammers now use AI to craft convincing, tailored pitches. The piece compiles guidance on recognizing red flags in such messages and verifying unsolicited outreach before responding.
Apple has introduced a security feature called Impersonation Risk Detection in iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 aimed at flagging social engineering scams. When a supported app detects a user is about to take a sensitive action, like making a payment or changing a password, it analyzes account and device signals and returns one of three risk levels: unknown, medium, or high. The receiving app then determines how to respond to that risk score.
Apple has introduced a new opt-in security feature called Impersonation Risk Detection in iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, designed to identify social engineering scams as they happen. The feature runs entirely on-device, analyzing behavior in real time and sending only a risk label—not underlying personal data—to supporting apps.
DetectifAI, a San Francisco startup founded by Tarini Padmanabhuni, has built AI models designed to run directly on smartphones to flag AI-generated voices in real time during calls and voice messages. Padmanabhuni started the company after her grandfather was scammed out of money by a deepfake voice impersonating his brother's kidnapping. The company is pitching its software to phone manufacturers to embed detection directly into device operating systems rather than relying on cloud-based analysis.
Criminals in Portugal, France and Germany have been mailing counterfeit credit cards and letters warning recipients that their card is expiring, urging them to scan a QR code to "activate" a replacement. The code leads to a fraudulent banking site that harvests login credentials, giving attackers access to victims' real accounts. Some fake cards even bear the recipient's actual name to increase credibility, according to digital banking advisor Georg Hauer.
Security firm Nisos ran a sting on a suspected North Korean operative who applied for a remote AI engineering job, sending a surveilled laptop to a US 'laptop farm' in Florida. Over subsequent months Nisos tracked the operator communicating with 22 others and four US-based facilitators while connecting from near the North Korea-China border. A joint advisory from US, Japan, Australia and Germany law enforcement says the broader campaign, called WaterPlum or Contagious Interview, has infected over 30,000 devices in 100+ countries and drained more than 7,000 crypto wallets.