Scammers have figured out the best time to text you
Malwarebytes threat data shows scammers tailor platforms per scam, with the web as top channel, Friday midday peaks, and MrBeast the most impersonated person.
Malwarebytes analyzed its threat data from April 15 to July 14, 2026 across more than 20 scam categories, finding scammers match platforms to scam types: job scams via email, romance scams via social media, and tech support scams via phone. The web is the top delivery channel ahead of email and SMS, and Malwarebytes says it blocks about 500,000 phishing sites a day. Scam texts peak at 12:00 pm ET, roughly 874% above the quietest hour, with volume peaking on Fridays about 50% higher than the start of the week. MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) appears in about 30% of impersonation scams, and the most impersonated brands are Google, Microsoft, Apple, Roblox and Amazon.
- Web is the top scam delivery method ahead of email and SMS
- Scam texts peak at 12:00 pm ET, 874% above the quietest hour, and peak Fridays
- MrBeast is the most impersonated person, featured in roughly 30% of impersonation scams
- Gaming platform impersonation rising: Roblox +15% and Steam +19% mid-June to mid-July
- Top impersonated brands: Google, Microsoft, Apple, Roblox and Amazon
- Victims
- Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast)
From the original article
2 min read at helpnetsecurity.com
The suspicious calls, texts, and DMs you got recently aren’t a coincidence, according to Malwarebytes. Scammers have worked out which platform gets them the best results for each type of con, and they stick to that formula. The company looked at its own threat data collected between April 15 and July 14, 2026, and tracked more than 20 scam categories, from tech support cons to sextortion.
By @helpnetsecurity · helpnetsecurity.com
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