Scams use deception to steal money, credentials, or sensitive data, making them a cybersecurity risk for individuals and organizations.
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Background for this topic.
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.
Google is working on a new security feature for Android that blocks device owners from changing sensitive settings when a phone call is in progress
Emerging Vendors, Consolidation Drive Innovation in Fraud, AML, Scam PreventionAs cybercriminals exploit AI-generated deepfake scams and synthetic identity fraud, financial institutions are investing heavily in fraud detection, anti-money laundering solutions and identity verification to stay ahead. This demand is driving consolidation in the market.
Romance-baiting losses were up 40% last year, as more and more pig-butchering efforts crop up in the wild.
Social Platforms Also Could Face Stiff Fines for Failing to Protect UsersThe Australian government passed the Scams Prevention Framework law in Parliament to make social media companies, banks and telecommunication companies accountable for scammers using their networks, subjecting them to a maximum of AU$50 million in fines for violations.
Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Chainalysis figures reveal 40% increase in losses to pig butchering, or romance baiting, scams
Romance scams cost Americans $697.3m in 2024, with crypto fraud schemes on the rise
Google has stepped in to clarify that a newly introduced Android System SafetyCore app does not perform any client-side scanning of content
PLUS: Japan shifts to pre-emptive cyber-defense; Thailand cuts cords connecting scam camps; China to launch 'moon hopper' in 2026; and more! Asia In Brief Huawei chair Liang Hua last week told a conference in China that the company expects to meet its revenue targets for 2024, meaning it earned around ¥860 billion ($118.25 billion) – 22 percent growth compared to its 2023 result.…