Phone scams shift toward texts, voice clones, and QR codes
Original title: Scammers are finding new ways to target your phone. Here are 5 ways to protect yourself
Consumers reported $470 million lost to text scams in 2024, and CrowdStrike says vishing doubled in early 2026.
Malwarebytes says scammers reach people by text, calls, and social media, and that AI voice and video impersonation makes fraud harder to spot. FTC-cited figures put 2024 text-scam losses at $470 million, up 26% from $373 million and more than five times 2020 losses. A Malwarebytes survey found 16% of adults received a voice-cloned call impersonating someone they knew in the past year, while 85% said scams are hard to distinguish from real messages. The post lists five defenses, including updates, unique passwords, passkeys, two-factor authentication, a family code word, and checking links and QR codes.
Unconfirmed: Loss totals, open rates, and the vishing increase are cited from FTC, FCC, and CrowdStrike reporting rather than verified here.
- FTC cites text open rates as high as 98%, versus 20% for email.
- About one in three people tune out constant scam warnings, Malwarebytes says.
- Android malware detections rose 151% in the first half of 2025, per Malwarebytes.
- The FBI warned in January about North Korean hackers using QR codes.
Impact: Theft of money, passwords, and identities via phone scams
- 1.Ignore unsolicited payment or personal-data requests and contact the company through its official site.
- 2.Install operating-system updates and use unique passwords, passkeys, and two-factor authentication.
- 3.Hang up suspicious calls, use a family code word, and inspect links and QR destinations before opening them.
From the original article
4 min read at malwarebytes.com
One in three people now tune out scam warnings, and scammers are counting on it.
By @malwarebytes · malwarebytes.com
A short excerpt; the article and its images belong to the publisher. Summary, key facts and assessment above are AI-written from the article and can be wrong.