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Tech support scams look different now. Here’s what to watch for

Malwarebytes warns tech support scammers now abuse sponsored search results, fake listings, calendar invites, and Apple Pay notifications, and shares red flags for impersonation scams.

Malwarebytes describes how tech support scams have expanded beyond browser locks and fake virus warnings to sponsored search results, hijacked on-site searches, fake platform listings, renewal scams, fake calendar invites, and Apple Pay notifications. Scammers impersonate trusted security companies including Malwarebytes, seeking payment, personal information, or remote access to victims' computers. Malwarebytes notes it does not outsource support, never makes unsolicited calls, and works with the FTC and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance to combat these scams.

Malwarebytes Labs · 14d agoPhishing & fraud1

Scammers are getting smarter about where they target you

Malwarebytes data shows scammers tailor fraud by platform: 90% of toll scams arrive via email/SMS and MrBeast is now the most impersonated person.

Malwarebytes threat research analyzed global scam data from April 15 to July 14, 2026, across more than 20 scam types, finding each type favors a specific channel such as email, SMS, phone, or social media. Roughly nine in ten toll scams arrive by email or text, about half of IRS scams come by phone, and MrBeast is impersonated in about 30% of impersonation scams. The most impersonated brands are Google, Microsoft, Apple, Roblox, and Amazon, and Malwarebytes blocks around 500,000 phishing websites daily. Gaming scams on Roblox, Steam, Discord, and Minecraft increasingly carry losses of $1,000 or more, with 15-19% activity spikes in mid-2026.

Malwarebytes Labs · 15d agoPhishing & fraud

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.

Help Net Security · 13d agoPhishing & fraud in the wild

T-Mobile rewards points expiry texts are a phishing scam

Malwarebytes tracks an SMS phishing campaign, active since May 2026, impersonating T-Mobile rewards expiry with 1,000+ templates and 81 rotating domains to lure victims.

Malwarebytes Labs has monitored a large smishing campaign since early May 2026 that falsely claims recipients' T-Mobile Rewards points are expiring, using invented balances like 18,400 points and imminent deadlines to create urgency. Researchers identified more than 1,000 semantically similar message templates (199 scoring at least 0.95 similarity) that vary only in salutation, headline, expiry date, and point balance. The links resolve to rotating domains such as t-mobile.biktpw[.]top, with at least 81 short-lived domains observed over four months, pushing victims to fake redemption pages where they may enter credentials or payment details. Activity peaked in two large spikes and has since declined, though messages are still circulating.

Malwarebytes Labs · 2h agoPhishing & fraud in the wild

Scammers leave AI fingerprints all over fake antivirus renewal page

Malwarebytes found an AI-built fake Avast renewal page in Belgium whose contractor-style code comments show scammers now generate polished pages with AI.

Malwarebytes analyzed a fake Avast Premium Security renewal page targeting Belgian users, claiming a €129.99 subscription renewal and asking for name, email, and Belgian mobile number. Harvested numbers feed callback scams where fake support agents persuade victims to install remote access software. French comments in the code, written like an AI assistant's unfinished handover, plus leftover styling and feature-free marketing copy suggest the page was generated with AI, meaning convincing localized scam pages can now be produced in minutes.

Help Net Security · 2h agoPhishing & fraud 2 sources

Search results are sending people to fake Bitrefill checkouts

Scam sites impersonating Bitrefill's crypto checkout appear in search results, tricking victims into sending up to $1,990 in crypto directly to scammers.

Malwarebytes documents a cluster of lookalike domains copying Bitrefill's gift card checkout, surfaced via search engine results rather than email. Victims choose an amount up to $1,990 and pay in Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDC, USDT, Solana, or Litecoin to scammer-controlled addresses, with no recourse since crypto payments are irreversible. Domains use typosquatting and Punycode/IDN homoglyph tricks, and the fake sites run commercial analytics software to measure and optimize victim conversion. Bitrefill's security team is working with takedown specialists to remove the sites.

Malwarebytes Labs · 2d agoPhishing & fraud

Loyalty points fraud is funding hacker holidays (Lock and Code S07E18)

Malwarebytes' Lock and Code podcast examines loyalty-points theft, with LexisNexis' Kim Sutherland explaining why stolen airline and hotel points are lucrative for fraudsters.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions' Kim Sutherland says loyalty currency is worth roughly one cent per point, making 100,000 airline points worth about $1,000 in the US. Cited incidents include a Chicago teacher who lost 240,000 airline points, discovered only via a confirmation email, and a man whose miles were used to book rental cars in New York and Memphis. The episode discusses how points theft happens and what companies and consumers can do.

Malwarebytes Labs · 9d agoPhishing & fraud

More than 100,000 fake stores are out to steal your card details

Researchers uncovered DoppelCart, a network of roughly 119,000 cloned fake shops that harvest card details and one-time bank codes during checkout.

Researchers at German firm Nebty identified 118,787 .shop domains tied to cloned online stores, representing 2.72% of the TLD population examined and described as the largest publicly documented fake-shop network by domain count. The shops mimic more than 44,000 brands, advertise discounts up to 65%, and 96% of confirmed shops reportedly share identical build files using just 27 ecommerce backends. Fraudulent checkout pages send card numbers, CVVs, billing data and bank one-time confirmation codes to attacker-controlled servers in real time over WebSockets, allowing criminals to complete payments while victims are still checking out.

Malwarebytes Labs · 7d agoPhishing & fraud

X Money rollout linked to password-reset attacks

X is investigating bulk unsolicited password-reset emails as its X Money payments service expands, with no confirmed breaches or account takeovers yet.

X users began reporting unexpected password-reset emails and codes on September 1, and product engineer Mridul Singhai said attackers appear to believe newly widespread X Money access makes accounts worth targeting. X says it has found no evidence of any breach or successful account takeover, and completing a reset still requires access to the account's email or phone number. X Money offers eligible US users interest-bearing accounts, a Visa debit card, and P2P payments, with Cross River Bank providing banking infrastructure. Malwarebytes warns the reset flood can serve as cover for phishing and urges reset protection, 2FA, and unique passwords.

Malwarebytes Labs · 13d agoPhishing & fraud in the wild

Fake GTA 6 leaked copy drains your crypto wallet

A fake GTA 6 leaked-copy website loads a multi-chain crypto wallet drainer that sweeps Solana balances and can steal assets across seven blockchain networks.

A fake Grand Theft Auto VI countdown site offers a supposed leaked copy for $50 or 1 SOL and loads a wallet drainer on page visit. An embedded Solana script transfers nearly the entire wallet balance, while a separate 2.4 MB script built on a legitimate wallet-connector tool targets wallets on Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Smart Chain, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Base, and Fantom, including stablecoins and NFT collections. The drainer geo-blocks CIS countries via a CIS_Protection setting, profiles visitor holdings, and evades automated scanners, suggesting a rented drainer-as-a-service.

Malwarebytes Labs · 15d agoPhishing & fraud

Copyright scammers get Instagram accounts suspended and demand payment

Scammers file fake Instagram copyright complaints to suspend accounts, then demand ransom via Telegram; Meta restored some affected accounts.

Criminals impersonate rights holders to file fraudulent copyright complaints on Instagram, and repeated claims can trigger temporary account suspensions. They then move victims to Telegram and demand payment, often in cryptocurrency, to withdraw the complaint; one history account owner paid $50 and was targeted again immediately. Meta's automated system does not verify complainants before acting, and the Delhi High Court is examining whether platforms can legally suspend accounts over copyright claims. Meta acknowledged in court that 13 strike notices against one user were fraudulent, and after BBC review it restored affected content and added unspecified protections.

Malwarebytes Labs · 7d agoPhishing & fraud in the wild