Scams use deception to steal money, credentials, or sensitive data, making them a cybersecurity risk for individuals and organizations.
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Scams are deceptive schemes intended to make people surrender money, credentials, sensitive information, or access. In information security, they commonly use phishing messages, impersonation, fraudulent websites, business-email compromise, fake technical support, or malicious attachments. Their defining feature is manipulation: the attacker creates a credible pretext and pressures the target to act before verifying the request.
Security teams should treat scams as an attack surface spanning email, messaging, telephone calls, social media, and payment workflows. Material risks include account takeover through stolen credentials, unauthorized payments, disclosure of personal or company data, and malware execution from deceptive content. Useful controls include phishing-resistant authentication, secure payment-change procedures with independent verification, filtering and domain protections, user training focused on reporting, and rapid review of suspicious messages or transactions. Incident handling may require revoking sessions, resetting credentials, contacting financial institutions, preserving evidence, and notifying affected parties where applicable.
Treasury Yet to Release Sector-Specific Controls and Reimbursement MechanismsAustralia introduced the world to the first-ever Scam Prevention Framework law that promised to make the country the hardest place on earth for fraudsters. Eight months later, it's trapped in bureaucratic limbo - passed, praised and still waiting to work.
Microsoft is introducing a new scareware sensor for the Microsoft Edge web browser, which helps detect scam pages more quickly and ensures that Defender SmartScreen blocks them faster. [...]
Users contend with cybersecurity scams throughout their day; a new Cyber Civic Engagement program wants to provide them with the skills to fight back.
Attorney Jonathan Armstrong on Vetting Job Applicants, Red Flags and ComplianceNorth Korean operatives are using fake identities and remote job listings to bypass sanctions and infiltrate companies. But employers can avoid becoming unwitting accomplices, said legal expert Jonathan Armstrong, who advises firms to adopt stronger vetting practices and structured investigations.
Google on Thursday revealed that the scam defenses built into Android safeguard users around the world from more than 10 billion suspected malicious calls and messages every month
Treasury Yet to Release Sector-Specific Controls and Reimbursement MechanismsAustralia introduced the world to the first-ever Scam Prevention Framework law that promised to make the country the hardest place on earth for fraudsters. Eight months later, it's trapped in bureaucratic limbo - passed, praised and still waiting to work.
A surge in fake investment platforms targeting cryptocurrency and forex markets has been driving a new wave of financial crime in Asia
ITRC report charts shocking rise of identity fraud victims driven to thoughts of self-harm